T 690 

,bi h: 



3 1 HA 

























































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V HIS TO 81 




"THE GBEAT EXHIBITION 

OF THE 

Jnousfrn of nil Notions:" 

BARNU M'S 

MONSTER PROGRESSIVE PANORAMA 

» AND INTERIOR OF 

THE CRISTA! PAIACE AM) ^OHIO'S FAIB 



CONDENSED JIISTOKY 



ORIGINATION, RISE, PROGRESS AND COMPLETION 



" (Sreat £jd)ibition of tljc 3nbustri) of all Nations/ 1 



HELD IN I'HR 



CRYSTAL PALACE, LONDON, 

Dl RIM, TDi: sm.MKK OF THK YL'IR hil : 



A REVIEW OF THE MOOT PROW 
d Tu THE BVBCT THl- I 01 THE DZTEUfntfK* 

OT CIVILIZATION, AM> THE PKOMOTTON ■ 1 

i'.TH. 



venient annia 

Saecula sens, quibus Oeeanus 
Vinculo rerura laxet el 
Pateat te 



RE I) FIELD. 

CLINTON HALL. N E W Y O E K : 
1-5-2. 



Boat* Athae 



V 



Entered 


according 


to Act of Congress, in 


the year One Thousand Eight Hundred and Fifty-two, 






BY P. 


T. BARN I'M, 






In the Clerk's Office of the District Conn of the Ci 


iled States lor the 






SOUlhl rn 


District of Hew fork. 






TO THE PUBLIC 



Connected with the great progressive "' Mirror of the Crystal Palace and World's 
Fair," in the capacity of public lecturer, it became necessary for me to collect and 
prepare such information as would best serve to illustrate the origin, erection, comple- 
tion, and success of the "Great Industrial Exhibition of 1851." 

The brief space of time allotted to each delineation, and the character of the enter- 
tainment, rendered much of the information so acquired — though of high intrinsic- 
value — unfit for introduction into such a sketch as should accompany the various 
scenes presented. 

At the suggestion of many friends, therefore — and, considering that the "World's 

is not a nine days' wonder," but rather an historical fact, the importance of 

which posterity will appreciate, and each succeeding year help still further to 

develope — it seemed not unnatural to suppose that the public would gladly hear more 

of a subject in which the interests of humanity are so deeply involved. 

The materials already collected were enlarged, and thrown into such form as will 
be found, it is hoped, not only amusing but instructive. 

With this brief preface, or apology, the following pages are now offered to the Pub- 
lic, whose long continued favor, and most liberal patronage, is the pride, and will for 
ever be the subject of grateful remembrance 

To their most Obedient Friend and Servant 

D. ELDON HALL. 

New York, 1852. 



P. T. BARNUM, ESQ., 
€ jr i s U n 1 n tit p 

IS MOST RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED, 

BY HI3 03LI0ED AND SINCERE FP.IEND, 



D. ELDON HALL. 



ORIGIN OF INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITIONS. 



CHAPTER I. 

The limited space allowed us, forbids that we should discuss what 
age or nation had the wisdom to originate Industrial Exhibitions; at 
the same time we may state that the first of which we have any posi- 
tive information, was projected by the Marquis D'Aveze, and opened 
in the splendid palace of St. Cloud, at Paris, in the year Y. of the 
Eepublic, that is to say, A.D. 1797. 

The Marquis contemplated in his scheme, no doubt, the advantage 
which would result to inventive and mechanical skill from this open 
competition ; but his more immediate object was, if possible, to revive 
that commerce which, with its attendant blessings of industry and 
contentment, had fled at the sound of the tocsin and the rappel of in- 
surrection. 

Unfortunately, on the very day this "Xtitional Fair" opened, went 
forth the decree of the Directory, (then omnipotent in France,) that 
all the nobility should quit the capital within twenty -four hours, and 
reside at a distance of not less than ten leagues from Paris. 

The Marquis was thus compelled to quit the scene of his benevolent 
labors ; but, undiscouraged, upon his return in the following year. 
1798, he again collected an "Exhibition of Native Art Manufac- 
tures" within the spacious house and grounds of the Maison D'Orsay, 
Rue de Tarrennes, Paris. 

The idea thus originated, was followed up and enlarged by M. 
Francois De Xeufchateau : and X apoleon — whose instinctive sagacity 
quickly appreciated the stimulus which rivalry and pride would lend 
to the industrial resources of the country — promoted and fostered 



6 ORIGIN OF THE GREAT EXHIBITION. 

these national displays, with that energy and singleness of purpose 
which characterized all his actions. 

Belgium and Holland have, for many years past, held "National 
Exhibitions, " modelled upon the French system ; and one feature in 
the Belgian method of distributing prizes, merits especial notice. 

Not only did the successful manufacturer, or exhibitor, receive a 
medal as the reward and proof of his success, but every artisan em- 
ployed by him in producing the fabric, likewise received a silver 
medal, to be worn at the button hole, bearing this inscription : " Re- 
compense Nationale." 

Germany, Spain, and Portugal also, had, to a greater or less extent, 
these National Fairs. But it remained for the Anglo-Saxon race, 
(that " nation of shop-keepers," as Napoleon called it,) to develop, in 
its widest form, the fraternity of commerce, and the possibility of uni- 
versal peace. 

Sincerely attached, as we are, to republican institutions, our faith is 
not of that ascetic school which acknowledges no merit outside the 
ranks of labor. 

On the contrary, we hold it both just and politic to hail with ad- 
miration the efforts of those whom Providence has placed in an exalted 
station, to alleviate the sufferings and ennoble the condition of the 
masses, whom the self same Providence has consigned — for wise pur- 
poses, doubtless — to the mechanical and manual departments of in- 
dustry. 

Apart from the eternal principles of justice, the common sense of 
mankind is sufficient to prove that it is wise to let those in authority 
feel " the sweets of charitable intercourse ■" far wiser than by repu- 
diating all obligation, still deeper to impress upon their minds that 
lie, so sedulously circulated by despotism of "popular ingratitude." 

No! "Let us render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's," and 
to Prince Albert the merit of first proposing, and zealously carrying 
out, through good report and evil, the almost infinite idea of a 
" World's Fair, ' ; in which, not towns or provinces, but empiv 
continents should wrestle for the prize. 

Through what interval of study His Royal Highness elaborated the 
conception, we know not; but the first public announcement of it 
took place in this wise, on the loth of June, 1849, not with a Bourish 



PRINCE ALBERTS PROPOSITION. 7 

of trumpets and the claptrap of a speech. — for it was dropped silently, 
as the seed of all great ideas ever has been, and will be — into the fur- 
rows of time, there to await its appointed season of bloom and fruitage. 

Prince Albert — (himself not only a connoisseur, but an artist of no 
mean pretensions in painting, sculpture, and engraving) — lends the 
eclat of his name and presence to the " Society of Arts " in London : 
and, with many a graceful compliment, distributes to the successful 
candidates the prizes which their genius and perseverance merit. 

At the annual meeting of the Society, in 1849, while reviewing the 
progress of science during the past twelve months, he took occasion 
to say, " that the time had now arrived, under the direction of Al- 
mighty (rod, for attempting to fuse the different nationalities, and 
collect together an exhibition of the world's industry." 

Upon the 30th of the same June, having reflected and matured his 
plan, the broad features of the Exhibition were laid down, precisely 
as they were finally completed. 

The important truths of life, however, never spring " per saltum " 
to perfection. They must be dug out of the intellectual mine, tried 
in the crucible of difficulty, and indurated to the strife by opposition. 

So it was in this case ; but the energy of its proposer stood the 
test, and triumphed eventually. 

A large portion of the aristocratic sect denounced the proposal in 
no measured terms ; and the rich commercial firms, whose cordial 
support had been relied upon, were but lukewarm friends, if not posi- 
tively inimical. 

The "Mrs. Partingtons' of the ' upper ten ' " dreamt dreams, and be- 
held visions, wherein they saw M. Louis Blanc, first Lord of the 
Treasury : M. Cabet, the communist Icarian philosopher, Chancellor 
of the Exchequer ; and ML Proudhon. the illustrious and profound 
writer, who begins his work on property, with the assertion "that all 
individual property is a public robbery." installed as Master of the 
Mint. 

The well-established commercial and manufacturing firms already 
possessed a high name in their respective departments, and therefore 
could reap but little profits from success ; whereas defeat would entail, 
perhaps, the ruin of their busiiv:—. 

At one time the Executive Committee were about to abandon the 



8 A PRINCELY OFFER. 

matter ; or, at least, to postpone it for some years, in consequence of 
not being able to raise the sum of $100,000, which it was a part of 
Prince Albert's original plan to distribute in prizes. 

Just at this disastrous point, the Messrs. Mundays stept into the 
breach, and rallied the forlorn Commissioners, by offering to erect a 
building, such as the Society of Arts might require, at a cost of 
$250,000; to invest the sum of $100,000 for prizes to-be distributed ; 
to pay some $10,000 towards the working expenses of the " Society of 
Arts ;" and further, to devote one-third of their profits to the said 
Society ; lastly, and to crown all, this princely firm were willing to 
leave the amount of their own profits and remuneration for labor and 
risk, to the decision of an arbitrator ! 

We dwell with pleasure on this noble offer, as it furnishes us some 
idea of the capital, enterprise, and good faith of Englishmen, when 
we hear that two individuals, almost unknown beyond the circle of 
their private business, could be found, not only ready to advance 
$500,000 in an entirely new and apparently most hazardous specula- 
tion, but likewise willing to submit the amount of their remuneration 
for risk so enormous, to be the subject of unbiassed arbitration. 

"The Exhibition of the World's Industry " now assumed the ap- 
pearance of a great fact The sinews of war were provided ; and, on 
the 3d of January, the Royal Commission, for the "promotion of an 
exhibition of the industry of all nations," was issued. 

At this stage, the matter was removed from the hands of the Society 
of Arts, and vested, nominally, in the hands of the Eoyal Commis- 
sioners; but, -practically, under the superintendence of the Executive 
Committee, of which Lieut. Col. Reicl was appointed Chairman. 

The Members of the Commission were : Mr. Henry Cole, of the 
Record office; Mr. Francis Fuller, a financier of considerable ability; 
Mr. Wentworth Dilke, George Drew, Esq., and M. D. Wyatt, Com- 
missioner and Secretary. 

Again — after it might have been fairly deemed that all obstacles 
had vanished — came a period of doubt and perplexity. 

The first act of the Royal Committee was to annul the partial con- 
tract with the Messrs. Mundays, in order to make the undertaking rest 
upon the voluntary support of the people; and the result proved the 
wisdom of this decision. 



FRESH DIFFICULTIES — MR. PETO. 9 

For, had the Messrs. Mundays' offer been finally accepted, it is more 
than probable that Mr. John Bull would have regarded the whole 
affair as a private speculation, in which the Messrs. Mundays and the 
Committee were alone interested, and he would, therefore, have re- 
garded the matter with placid indifference. 

But, when the philosophic and rotund individual above named, 
heard the cries of "patriotic liberality" "fine old English gentleman" 
"honor of the nation at stake" " public spirit" "national glory" " mer- 
chant princes" and "Rule Britannia" echoed from a hundred platforms, 
in every variety of tone and style, from the princely tenor, to the 
double bass of the hired agitator, his features relaxed visibly from 
their "do-it-yourself" expression; and, diving down his hands into 
his cajDacious breeches pockets, he deposited " the needful" with a 
grim smile, at the feet of the Commissioners. 

First in the rank of these generous contributors, stood Mr. Samuel 
Morton Peto, a celebrated architect, and influential member of the 
British Parliament. When the Committee had decided upon not ac- 
cepting the offer of the Messrs. Mundays, the funds were short, and 
the visages of those interested, 'long in an inverse ratio. At this criti- 
cal juncture, Mr. Peto stepped in like a second Atlas, to prop the 
crumbling castles which imagination had already built in the air, and, 
with three strokes of his pen, he guaranteed that the Commissioners 
should never want for funds while he had $250,000 to spare. 

This rallied the courage of the Commissioners a good deal; and 
henceforward, though not exempt from annoyances, they encountered 
no financial difficulties. 

The great necessity now to be considered was : how to secure a 
building, suitable in form and material, to so novel a purpose, early in 
the succeeding spring. 

A committee of architects and engineers, smilingly, and with the 
most obliging facility, brought forth the ground plan, elevations, sec- 
tions, &c, &c, of some sixteen acres of red brick wall, surmounted 
by an iron cupola, or mammoth extinguisher, (as some would-be- witty 
fellow called it.) 

A print of this classic structure was dispatched to the "Illustrated 
London News," and published in due course, as the acme of official 
taste. However, the people happened, upon this occasion r to have a 



10 BUILDING PLANS. 

little taste of their own ; and, upon the appearance of the proposed 
edifice, one simultaneous groan arose throughout Great Britain, from 
the Lands End to the Hebrides, followed by the pious ejaculation of 
" Good Lord, deliver us !" 

A full pack of the Metropolitan and Provincial press, opened a 
it in full cry. The iron lungs of the steam engine ran it down, and 
the pens of a thousand " ready writers " tore it into atoms. Failure 
the first ! 

Innumerable plans followed. Pyramids of stone, brick, wood, can- 
vass, iron, plaster, and even vulcanized caoutchouc were mercilessly 
dropped in upon the unoffending commissioners. Everybody had a 
plan of his own ; and everybody thought his own plan was the plan ; and 
further, that its rejection — if the commissioners were so utterly bar- 
barous as not to appreciate its simplicity and beauty — would involve 
consequences most disastrous to Great Britain, and the whole human 
race in general. 

The Commissioners, driven at length to despair, turned round upon 
their assailants, and declared, " that as none of the plans forwarded, 
in any degree suited the proposed Exhibition, they, themselves, (the 
Commissioners,) must now try to devise some structure more appro- 
priate to the purpose." 

As the Royal Commissioners contained such men as Sir Richard 
Westmacott, royal academician ; Sir Charles Eastlake, President of 
the Royal Academy of Painters ; Charles Barry, architect of the new 
Houses of Parliament ; Wm. Cubitt, President of the Institute of 
Civil Engineers ; Thomas Field Gibson, the eminent sculptor ; and 
Robert Stephenson, M. P., the greatest living engineer, it was to be 
supposed that their united arts would furnish a miracle of strength, 
elegance, and capacity, beside which the traditionary glories of Baby- 
lon, and the silent monuments of Greece, would hide their diminished 
heads. 

Wonders will never cease, however, for the Commissioners' plan 
stood second only in ugliness to the one rejected ; and when Paxton — 
fresh with the bloom of the roses his hands so fondly nurtured at 
Chatsworth — leaped into the arena of competition, and exhibi 
design, painters, architects, engineers, and sculptors, all were over- 



PAXTOX AT LAST. 11 

looked, and the seal of popular approbation was affixed to the poor 
gardener's conception. 

A short sketch of Mr. Paxton's life cannot fail to be of universal 
interest ; and though it must be but the outline of a career, which the 
writer would gladly follow through all its chequered stages of patient 
acquirement and self-supported endurance, yet so striking are its inci- 
dents, and so cheering must its simple narration prove to those forlorn 
sons of toil, whom a nobler instinct prompts to struggle onward, and 
sunward, despite the cramping chain of poverty, and the blight of 
uncongenial associates, that it cannot be passed by in silence. 

This is eminently the age of the working and thinking man — and, 
unto him, who thinks and works with steadfast unremitting energy, 
the gates of wealth and honor open as to a master. 

Learning, Temperance, Thought. Morality and Truth, have made 
more rapid progress during the last thirty years, than during any pre- 
ceding century. Each onward step which science takes, lends a fresh 
impetus to the march of mind, and opens up a new world of specula- 
tion and analysis ! Freedom spreads her wings once more, to make 
the circuit of the earth — not now, as heretofore, with the headlong and 
broken flight of the callow nestling, soaring heavenward for a time, 
with eager unreflecting haste, and tumbling earthward into the abyss, 
from sheer exhaustion, ignorance and weariness. ISTo ! far from it, we 
thank Grod ! — winged with the eternal truth, which varies not — wise, 
from the sad experience of her first excesses — resolute, in the con- 
sciousness of right, and merciful from the sad remembrance of her 
own sufferings, calm, just and unimpassioned, the people take her to 
their hearts, and tyrants tremble more, before her scornful smile, than 
once they did before her loudest, angriest denunciations. 

Let us return to Paxton. — Born — we know not in what year — but 
educated, while the echoes of the great European convulsion still 
sounded faintly in the distance — Joseph Paxton applied himself to the 
occupation of gardening, whether from choice, or necessity matters 
little, but we should say, from choice. For the love of flowers is the 
love and cultivation of beauty ; and, assuredly, the designer of the 
Crystal Palace had an innate symmetry of mind, an appreciation of the 
beautiful, and a vigor of the reasoning and imaginative faculties, 
rarely, if ever, equalled. 



12 paxton's life and occupation. 

When first we hear of him, he holds the place of under gardener 
to his Grace the Puke of Somerset, at Wimbledon. Thirteen years 
since, he entered the service of the Duke of Devonshire, at Chatsworth, 
in the same humble capacity ; from which, however, he was soon pro- 
moted to that of head gardener, and manager of the Duke's estates 
in Ireland. 

His fame as landscape gardener rapidly spread over England ; and 
his botanical works extended it throughout the Continent of Europe. 

So magnificent were the hot-houses of Chatsworth, that numbers of 
foreigners came express^ to visit them ; and, the King of Saxony, we 
think it was, who graphically described them as " an acre or two of 
the tropics, preserved uninjured in a glass-case." 

Now Mr. Paxton stands before us the world-renowned Sir Joseph 
Paxton, architect and designer of the Crj'stal Palace — the associate 
of the great, whose follies he has never flattered — the friend of the 
learned and wise, whose merit he is ever the first to acknowledge — the 
patron and support of friendless genius — a self-made, thoughtful, hard- 
working, honest man — " the noblest work of God !" 

Paxton's own account of the origin of the Crystal Palace, is too 
valuable to be lost, we therefore extract it from his speech, delivered 
at Derby, (England,) in the August of last year. It strikingly exem- 
plifies the proverb, that " small beginnings make great endings ;" and 
is likewise characteristic of that peculiar combination of frankness and 
modesty, which almost invariably accompanies true genius. 

After complimenting Prince Albert, as the first projector of the 
world's fair, he proceeds thus : 

" You are aware that as soon as the Royal Commission was formed, 
gentlemen were selected as a Building Committee ; to this committee 
was deputed the onerous duty of devising a proper building for the 
exhibition. Their first public act was to send out invitations for 
designs for a suitable structure. About 240 designs were sent in, but 
the committee not finding any of these exactly in accordance witli 
their views, set about devising a plan of their own ; and, on this being 
completed, they prepared detailed drawings and specifications for the 
purpose of obtaining tenders. The structure they proposed to erect 
was severely commented upon in the public journals, on account of 
the vast amount of bricks that would be used in its construction, and 
the permanent character of the work. It was not until this war of 
words was raging with great fierceness, that the thought occurred to 



THE CRYSTAL PALACE. lo 

me of making a design which would obviate all objections. Fortu- 
nately, at that time, I was erecting a house of peculiar construction, 
which I had designed for the growth of that most remarkable plant, 
the Victoria regia ; and it is to this plant, and this circumstance, that 
the Crystal Palace owes its direct origin.'' 

TVas there not a small beginning here ? From keeping the hoar 
frost off a flower, to covering in the richest treasures of the wide 
world's wealth, seems but a natural sequence to the mind of such a 
man. 

His promptitude in the execution of the plan, once formed, bespeaks 
the self-confidence of practised and unerring skill. From his first con- 
ception of the scheme to its completion, occupied but a space of nine 
days ; including all the labor involved in arithmetical calculations of 
the area, height, strength, and durability of the intended structure. 

These made, and the sketches, &c.. completed, he started from Chats- 
worth for London, and instantly laid his design before the royal com- 
missioners. 

By many of them, by all indeed, it was greatly admired ; but, as 
they had already determined on erecting a building for themselves, 
they politely informed him " that his papers came too late." 

Still undiscouraged, he appealed from the decision of the commis- 
sioners to the opinion of collective Britain, through the columns of 
" the Illustrated London Xews. " with what success is already known. 

Hamlet's address to his mother : 

u Look here upon this picture, — and on this — 
The counterfeit presentment of two brothers ;" 

pointed not to a more " foregone conclusion,'' than did the appearance 
in the same newspaper of the official and ex-officio bantlings — not all 
the red tape which the commissioners could tie around their first horn % 
could keep the younger out of the inheritance. 

Without waiting for the consent of the committee, Paxton entered 
into negotiation with Messrs. Fox and Henderson, of Birmingham, the 
eminent contractors, who furnished an estimate of the probable cost ; 
and the enormous quantity of glass required, (upwards of four hundred 
tons weight.) was contracted for by Mr. Eobert Lucas Chance, likewise 
of Birmingham. 

The Eoyal Commissioiers finally yielded to the voice of general 



\ 



14 THE CRYSTAL PALACE CONTINUED. 

remonstrance; and, revoking their unjust ostracism of the best design 
sent in — Mr. Paxton's plan was adopted. 

— Previous to this, the titled proprietors of the stately mansions round 
Hyde Park, had been violently opposed to the erection of the exhibi- 
tion in this locality — fearing, it may be, the contrast, thus vividly 
brought home to their own doors, between progressive industry, and 
their own luxurious, but stagnant idleness. 

Further than this, if more indeed were wanted, imagination pic- 
tured their own " Elysian Fields '' downtrodden and threadbare from 
the influx of the myriads swarming westward ; and the broad carriage 
drive, called the Ring, now smooth as a billiard table, appeared cut 
up into ruts and pitfalls by the innumerable wagons which would be 
required to draw the stone, bricks, timber, iron and mortar, involved 
in the Commissioners' plan. 

The adoption of Paxton's "Crystal Palace," in a great measure dis- 
sipated this opposition, but not entirely ; for a few staunch sticklers 
of the efftte, and now nearly obsolete high Tory school, headed by the 
veteran Colonel Sibthorp, took up the strain of the Prophet Jeremiah, 
and paced to and fro the land, heaping ashes on their heads, and cry- 
ing : "Wo ! wo ! and lamentation I" 

With the exception of these retrograde philosophers, howe\ 
ranks and classes now manifested a lively interest in the undertaking; 
thanks, partly to the high patronage of royalty, and partly to the vig- 
orous agitation throughout the country, which the Executive Com- 
mittee had organized and directed. 

All the preliminaries thus arranged, it now merely remained to pro- 
ceed with the erection of the building. 




■: 



, 



15 



CHAPTER n. 

THE ERECTION OF THE BUILDING AND GRAND OPENING. 

One morning we saw a few business-like gentlemen, with theodo- 
lites, levels, chains, and other engineering apparatus, engaged in mak- 
ing an accurate surrey of the ground. Here and there a few wooden 
pegs were driven down, as if for land marks ; and in a few days more 
a hoarding of planks ran round the space so indicated. 

From within' could be heard, but indistinctly, the ringing chimes of 
a thousand hammers ; and in a few days, comparatively speaking — as 
if Aladdin's lamp were part and parcel of the stock in trade of Messrs. 
Fox and Henderson — the lightest, brightest, prettiest, and most capa- 
cious structure ever mortal hands erected, glittered above Hyde Park's 
ancestral oaks, and flung its mighty shadow across the waveless Ser- 
pentine. 

The first of May, dear old May-day. with its May-pole and its rib- 
bons ! its village queen of modesty and beauty ! its mirth and dancing ! 
dear old May- day ! 

"That maddest, merriest holiday of all the glad New Year," (as 
Tennyson sings it in his "May Queen,") was selected, happily, for the 
inauguration ceremony; to which the presence of Her Majesty, and 
the British Court in state, should add splendor and solemnity. 

In all hours of revelry and triumph, the presence of royalty is an 
indispensable to Englishmen. Xo doubt this feeling, or desire, has 
been sedulously fostered by the statesmen of Great Britain ; but it 
owes its existence chiefly to the patriotic and pardonable vanity of 
the people themselves. 

In general, the Queen rides or drives through London much the 
same as any other private lady ; and, save a few foreigners, or country 



16 ENGLISH LOYALTY! — WHAT IT IS. 

bumpkins on a ' : vizit to Lmimin" few turn their heads round to sec 
which way she goes. But, upon state occasions, all is different. The 
woman, and the mother, whose domestic virtues render her esteemed 
and respectable, has ceased to exist. It is the ABSTRACT KAJESTT of 
his own land and race, which rouses the phlegmatic Saxon to a mo- 
ment's enthusiasm; it is the crown, and not the wearer; it is the 
scejitre, not the fair and jewelled fingers holding it, lie worships. In 
short, the Queen becomes the mirror in which Englishmen behold the 
reflection of their own wealth and prowess, pleasantly represented 
and exaggerated. No wonder, therefore, that they are enthusiastic on 
such occasions, as it affords them an opportunity of cheering for 
THEMSELVES, without the imputation generally attendant on self- 
praise, to wit, that "it is no recommendation !" 

And though, when contrasted with the manly, independent sim- 
plicity of our republican institutions, the purple fades, and the tinsel 
loses its lustre ; yet, in moments of popular triumph and excitement, 

-The neighing steed, the plumed troop, 



- The royal banner, and all quality, 

Pride, pomp, and circumstance of kingly power, 

and the salvos of those, 

-Mortal engines, whose rude throats 



Th' immortal Jove's dread clamors counterfeit- 
All these conspire to elevate, startle and bewitch the wild imagination 
into more vivid play, and surprise the citadel of reason, through the 
unguarded avenues of sight, hearing, and emotion. 

The first scene represented in the "Mirror of the World's Fair,'' is 
a bird's-eye view of the Crystal Palace, and its immediate neighbor- 
hood. 

This view was prepared in order to furnish the spectators with a 
precise idea of the locality in which the building stands. 

Much discussion, and a whole campaign of paper war took place, 
before it was finally determined that the Exhibition should take place 
in Hyde Park. 

This Park is situate at the extreme west end of London, and was 
the daily drive and lounge of all the fashion, wealth, and beauty of 
the modern Babylon. 

The streets adjacent and approaching to it, are inhabited only by 



TEABS OF BELGRAVIA— FIEST OF MAT. 17 

what we would call here, in the vernacular, "the upper ten;" and, 
though open to all foot passengers and private carriages, it is but little 
frequented bj "the million,'"' who wisely shun the contrast between 
their own thread-bare garments and the chef d 1 ouvres of Bond street. 

The Exhibition destroyed this monopoly, and restored the Park to 
its original destination, that of a breathing-place and recreation-ground 
for the wearied citizens and smoke-dried inhabitants of the great me- 
tropolis. 

m. Accordingly, it was denounced in no measured terms (as we have 
before said) by the aristocratic sect, as "an abominable and dangerous 
nuisance;"' abominable, because it brought, or might bring, "the slo- 
enly, unhandsome clods" between the wind and their nobility, danger- 
ous, because "everything which our fathers did not, in the plentitude 
of their wisdom, do, must be both bad and dangerous!" and a xuisaxce, 
" because — a — a — a — because — in fact — because we do not like it ;" 
" put it into the Victoria Park !" (a few fields enclosed at the eastern 
end of London) — " Put it into the Victoria Park — vulgar, filthy thing ! 
— -just where it ought to be ! " — " Put it into Battersea swamp, and 
let its idiot visitors catch the Tertian ague !" In short, "put it any- 
where, or everywhere, except near us !" 

"Alas ! for human perverseness ! The Eoyal Commissioners, with 
Prince Albert at their head, were either deaf to this remonstrance, or 
so besotedly ignorant as not to appreciate the soundness of the logic, 
or the generous and patriotic spirit which it manifested ! so that de- 
spite the tears of Belgravia, and the agonizing shrieks of Piccadilly — 
the Palace was completed, and in great part filled with the productions 
of industry, by the 1st of May, 1851, upon which day, the Queen, 
with all the splendor of her court, with all the pomp of a royal and 
national procession, with prayers and thanksgivings, with solemn and 
rejoicing music, with salvos of artillery, and amid the assembled 
representatives of a hundred different peoples, publicly threw open 
the lists of competition to the industry, and genius of the whole 
world. 

The time fixed for the admission of those holding season tickets, 
was 9 A. M. ; but long before that hour, every point of access to the 
building was thronged with eager spectators — the majority belonging 



18 THE GRAND COUP d'(E1L. 

to the fairer portion of creation, all anxiously waiting for "the troub- 
ling of the waters." 

Considering the immense number who did, eventually, gain admit- 
tance upon this day (some twenty, or twenty-five thousand at least,) the 
proceedings were conducted with wonderful good humor and regu- 
larity ; so that much of the personal inconvenience, which is the 
penalty generally paid by sight-seekers for their amusement, was here 
avoided. 

The grand " coup cVoeil" of the Palace, on entering, was grand almost 
beyond conception. The vast dimensions of the building, the breadth 
of light, partially subdued, and agreeably mellowed in the nave, by 
thin curtains placed above the roof, whilst the arched transept soared 
into the cloudless heaven, courting, gathering, and distributing the 
fall effulgence of the noon-day sun. The bright and dazzling hues of 
silks, and rich embroideries — the pale beauty of a thousand sculptured 
nymphs, and heroes — the innumerable objects of interest, art and 
beauty, dissimilar, and almost incongruous in their variety — all, were 
blent into one harmonious picture of immense grandeur by the attend- 
ant circumstances of space and light, whilst the buzz of human voices, 
deep and musical, infused the life of life into a picture which, at the 
period of the crowning incident, became unutterably sublime. 

The centre area, formed by the intersection of the naves and tran- 
sept, was set apart for the reception of her Majesty, the Koyal Retinue, 
and the other yiotabilities, who were to take part in the solemn ceremo- 
nies of the day. 

At the northern end of this area, a dais was erected, covered with 
a splendid carpet, " ankle deep in velvet,'' 1 worked by one hundred and 
fifty ladies of rank, and presented to her Majesty. Upon this, was 
placed the chair of state or throne, covered with a velvet robe or 
mantle of crimson and gold. 

High, overhead, was suspended an octagonal canopy, trimmed with 
rich satin, and draperies of blue and white silk formed a firmament 
from within which, innumerable Brunswick stars, and other heraldic 
signs, shed their benignest influence. 

In front of the throne, arose the Crystal Fountain, glittering as a 
precious stone, when first it greets the sunbeam. Behind it, groves of 



THE IROX DUKE. 19 

palm, and other oriental plants, waved their luxuriant leaves beneath 
the stately branches of the English elm. 

Along, and from the galleries of the western or main avenne — 
devoted to Great Britain and her dependencies — hung a melange of 
velvets, furs, silks, robes, embroideries and tapestry, bright as the 
clouds that float above the setting sun, and countless as the bannaret3 
that waved in the old knightly halls of Charlemagne. "While, along 
the foreign avenue, all stood revealed in the symmetry, and beauty of 
continental taste. 

The vista of the whole line, from west to east, outshone the fabled 
glories of the past; and presented the brightest, noblest trophy of 
human skill, genius, and perseverance, that ever (job's bright sun 
looked down upon. 

As 11 o'clock approached, the hour at which the admission of the 
public terminated, the inward tide surged heavily, and a moment's 
confusion took place — but only for a moment. 

The dense mass of spectators quickly settled down into their places, 
the gentlemen standing behind their gentle partners, through all the 
principal avenues and gallerir;. 

The Duke of Wellington arrived about 10 o'clock, accompanied by 
his daughter-in-law, the Marchioness of Douro, and the knowledge 
that it was his grace's birthday, contributed, if aught were needed, to 
increase in zeal and volume, the hearty cheering which greeted him as 
he passed onward to his place in the central area. 

Here let us pause for a moment, and contemplate the man ! — while, 
with no irreverent finger, we seek to trace, in h:e lestmy, the myste- 
rious workings of an All-powerful and beneficent Providence. 

You see him there, "an old, old man," enfeebled by the infirmities 
of age, and scarcely of the middle height. His hair is whitened by the 
frost of four score and ten winters ; and on his broad and wrinkled 
brow, the seals of care and age. are heavily imprinted — shrunken ! — 
Aye, shrunken even more than the lifeless body of that mighty foe. 
his fortune, and his masters perfidy, hurled across the water to wither 
on the barren rock of St. Helena — so shrunken ! 

And yet, within that palsied hand, once iron in its grasp, hung, or 
were supposed to hang, the destinies of Europe ! — pshaw. 

There was an hour vhen the fate of the whole human race, for good 



20 OLD IDEAS. 

or ill — so Kings assured us — and who can doubt the royal veracity ? — 
centred in his person, and when the fears and hopes of millions clus- 
tered round his steps. 

It was at his word the emasculated legions of the crumbling dynas- 
ties of Europe, plucked up new heart and hope, wherewith to face the 
Colossus of Corsica ; and finally, backed by the courage of his race, 
the lavish wealth of England, and the hordes of ancient tyranny — 
his arm struck down from its more than royal height, the apostate 
child of liberty, the last Titan (let us hope,) who shall arise to dazzle 
and to scourge mankind. 

Yet Providence has designed that he should witness the futility of 
all schemes, whether of open violence or truckling diplomacy, to ar- 
rest the onward march of civilization, and her sister, Liberty. 

The tottering thrones, which the whirlwind of Napoleon's power 
then threatened to sweep down before it, now crumble from internal 
corruption and decay. They bear no fruit to law, order, or tranquil- 
lity. Why cumber they the ground ? Yet a little, and the earth- 
quake of awakened Liberty will shake them down, to mingle with that 
dust they have drenched and saturated with her martyrs' blood. The 
signs of the times proclaim it, and the voice of freedom's chosen 
champion and apostle, now, even while we write, thunders the glad 
tidings to the four winds of heaven. 

The Iron Duke has seen, and seen in silence, the nephew of his 
enemy elected chief of France, and it is not impossible that he may 
yet behold him elevated to a still more pompous and precarious dig- 
nity. True it is, that the price of such an elevation must be rank per- 
jury to the solemn oath of fealty to the constitution, which, as Presi- 
dent of the Republic, he has sworn to obey. But the " nephew of 
his uncle " — Napoleon the Little — is not the man to stick at trifles such 
as this. 

He has heard "the balance of power in Europe, and the necessity 
of maintaining it," once the loadstar and the mainspring of all Eng- 
lish policy, laughed to scorn by the thinking and working men of a 
wiser generation. 

And, lastly, he has heard the doctrine of non-intervention in the 
domestic affairs of other countries, eloquently advocated by the new 
Evangelist of Freedom, and enthusiastically responded to, not by us 



EOTAL ENTRANCE. 21 

only, the eldest born of true republican liberty, but by the very same 
English who, fifty years ago, thought the unholy alliance of despots 
cheaply maintained at a cost of not less than three billions, two hundred 
and fifty millions of dollars, and the lives of that uncounted host who 
perished in the battle and the march. 

He has been reserved beyond the allotted period of man's life, to 
witness the inauguration of a brighter era, to read one chapter in the 
history of man, unpolluted by blood, unilluminated by the torch of 
war; and there he stood, the cashiered "Jupiter tonans" amid the 
trophies of peace and the epitome of progress. 

Let us now return to our subject. The various members of the 
corps diplomatique, and the Foreign Commissioners, arrived by half- 
past ten. After them, the members of the Cabinet ; and, finally, the 
Lord Mayor of London, and the civic authorities, in their furred and 
purple robes of office. 

The corps of "gentlemen at arms" took their stand behind the 
dais ; while trumpeters and heralds stood ready to proclaim the arrival 
of England's Queen, and usher her to the throne. 

At noon precisely, when the sun culminated above, the Crystal 
Palace beneath attained its meridian of glory. 

A flourish of trumpets, bugles, clarions, and hautboys, deafening 
cheers, and the roar of cannon, announced Her Majesty's arrival. She 
was conducted to the throne ; and, when the echoes of the first mighty 
welcome died away, nearly a thousand voices "pealed through the 
long resounding aisles," the solemn anthem of Great Britain, "God 
save the Queen!" 

Shortly after the Queen and Prince Albert had been seated, the 
Prince arose, and, stepping down from the dais, took his place along 
with his brother-commissioners, as President of the Committee. He 
then delivered the following address : — 

11 May it please your Majesty — TVe, the Commissioners appointed 
by your Majesty's royal warrant, of the 3d of January, 1850, for the 
promotion of the Exhibition of the works of Industry of all Xations, 
and subsequently incorporated by your Majesty's royal charter, of the 
15th of August in the same year, humbly beg leave, on the occasion 
of your Majesty's auspicious visit at the opening of the Exhibition, to 
lay before you a brief statement o" our proceedings to the present 
time. 



22 prince Albert's address. 

"By virtue of the authority gracicusly committed to us by youf 
Majesty, we have made diligent inquiry into the matters which your 
Majesty was pleased to refer to us — namely, into the best mode of in- 
troducing the productions of your Majesty's colonies and of foreign 
countries into this kingdom — the selection of the most desirable site 
for the Exhibition, the general conduct of the undertaking, and the 
proper method of determining the natnre of the prizes, and of secur- 
ing the most impartial distribution of them. 

" In the prosecution of these inquiries, and in the discharge of the 
duties assigned to us by your Majesty's royal charter of incorporation, 
we have held constant meetings of our whole body, and have, more- 
over, referred numerous questions connected with a great variety of 
subjects, to committees composed partly of our own members, and 
partly of individuals distinguished in the several departments of 
science and the arts, who have cordially responded to our applications 
for their assistance, at a great sacrifice of their valuable time. 

"Among the earliest questions brought before us, was the important 
one as to the terms upon which articles offered for exhibition should 
be admitted into the building. We considered that it was a main 
characteristic of the national undertaking in which we were en_ 
that it should depend wholly upon the voluntary contributions of the 
people of this country for its success ; and we therefore decided, with- 
out hesitation, that no charge whatever should be made for the ad- 
mission of such goods. We considered, also, that the office of select- 
ing the articles to be sent should be entrusted, in the first instance, to 
local committees, to be established in every foreign country, and, in 
various districts of your Majesty's dominions, a general power of con- 
trol being reserved in the commission. 

,; We have now the gratification of stating that our anticipations of 
support in this course, have, in all respects, been fully realized. Your 
Majesty's most gracious donation to the funds of the Exhibition, was 
the signal for voluntary contributions from all, even the humblest, 
classes of your subjects ; and the funds which have thus been placed 
at our disposal, amount at present to about £65,000. Local commit- 
tees, from which we have uniformly received the most zealous co- 
operation, were formed in all parts of the United Kingdom, in many 
of your Majesty's colonies, and in the territories of the Honorable 
East India Company. The most energetic support has also 1 
ceived from the governments of nearly all the countries in the world, 
in most of which commissions have been appointed fur the s] 
purpose of promoting the objects of an Exhibition justly characterized, 
in your Majesty's royal warrant, as an Exhibition • . rka of 

Industry of all Nations. 

" We have also to acknowledge the great readiness with which per- 
sons of all classes have come forward as exhibitors; and here a_ r :iin 



PRIXCE ALBERTS AL DRESS. 23 

it becomes our duty to return our humble thanks to your Majesty, for 
the most gracious manner in which your Majesty has condescended to 
associate yourself with your subjects, by yourself contributing some 
valuable and interesting articles to the Exhibition. 

" The number of exhibitors, whose productions it has been found 
possible to accommodate, is about 15,000, of whom nearly one-half 
are British. The remainder represent the productions of more than 
forty foreign countries, comprising almost the whole of the civilized 
nations of the globe. In arranging the space to be allotted to each, 
we h^ve taken into consideration both the nature of its productions 
and the facilities of access to this country afforded by its geographical 
position. Your Majesty will find the productions of your Majesty's 
dominions arranged in the western portion of the building, and those 
of foreign countries in the eastern. The Exhibition is dhided into 
the four great classes of — 1. Eaw materials ; 2. Machinery: 3. Manu- 
factures ; and 4. Sculpture and the Fine Arts. A further division 
has been made, according to the geographical position of the countries 
represented ; those which lie within the warmer latitudes being placed 
near the centre of the building, and the colder countries at the ex- 
tremities. 

'"Your Majesty having been graciously -pleased to grant a site in this, 
your royal Park, for the purposes of the Exhibition ; the first column 
of the structure, now honored by your Majesty's presence, was fixed 
on the 26th of September last. Within the short period, therefore, 
of seven months, owing to the energy of the contractors, and the 
active industry of the workmen employed by them, a building has 
been erected, entirely novel in its construction, covering a space of 
more than 18 acres, measuring 1851 feet in length, and 456 feet in ex- 
treme breadth, and capable of containing 40,000 visitors, and afford- 
ing a frontage for the exhibition of goods to the extent of more than 
ten miles. For the original suggestion of the principle of this struc- 
ture, the Commissioners are indebted to Mr. Joseph Paxton, to whom 
they feel their acknowledgments to be justly due for this interesting 
feature of their undertaking. 

1 ' With regard to the distribution of rewards to deserving exhibitors, 
we have decided that they should be given in the form of medals, not 
with reference to merely individual competition, but as rewards for 
excellence in whatever shape it may present itself. The selection of 
the persons to be rewarded, has been entrusted to juries composed 
equally of British subjects and of foreigners, the former having been 
selected by the commission, from the recommendations made by the 
local committees, and the latter by the governments of the foreign 
nations, the productions of which are exhibited. The names of these 
jurors, comprising as they do many of European celebrity, afford the 



24 tier majesty's reply. 

best guarantee of tlic impartiality with which the rewards will be as- 
signed. 

"It affords us much gratification, that, notwithstanding the magni- 
tude of this undertaking, and the great distances from which many 
of the articles now exhibited have had to be collected, the day on 
which your Majesty has been graciously pleased to be present at the 
inauguration of the Exhibition, is the same day that was originally 
named for its opening; thus affording a proof of what may, under 
God's blessing, be accomplished by good-will and cordial co-operation 
amongst nations, aided by the means that modern science has placed 
at our command. 

"Having thus briefly laid before your Majesty the results of our 
labors, it now only remains for us to convey to your Majesty our duti- 
ful and loyal acknowledgments of the support and encouragement 
which we have derived throughout this extensive and laborious task, 
from the gracious favor and countenance of your Majesty. It is our 
heartfelt prayer that this undertaking, which has for its end the pro- 
motion of all branches of human industry, and the strengthening of 
the bonds of peace and friendship among all the nations of the earth, 
may, by the blessing of Divine Providence, conduce to the welfare of 
your Majesty's people, and be long remembered among the brightest 
circumstances of }-our Majesty's peaceful and happy reign." 

To which Her Majesty replied in the following words: — 

"I receive, with the greatest satisfaction, the address which 3-011 
have presented to me, on the opening of this Exhibition.- 

"I have observed, with a warm and increasing interest, the progress 
of your proceedings in the execution of the duties entrusted to you 
by the Eoyal Commission ; and it affords me sincere gratification to 
witness the successful result of your judicious and unremitting exer- 
tions in the splendid spectacle by which I am this da} T surrounded. 

"I cordialty concur with you in the prayer, that, by God's 1>! 
this undertaking may conduce to the welfare of my people, and to the 
common interests of the human race, by encouraging the aits of peace 
and industry, strengthening the bonds of union among the nati 
the earth, and promoting a friendly and honorable rivalry in the use- 
ful exercise of those faculties which have been conferred by ;t benefi- 
cent Providence, for the good and the happiness of mankind." 

The Archbishop of Canterbury then prayed that the Divine blessing 
might rest upon an undertaking so auspiciously begun ; and sanctify 
its result to the benefit of mankind, and honor of God. 

After this a procession was formed, and made the circuit of the 

principal avenues in the following order:* 

* We insert this procession, not (rata any personal interest we feel in it; but to - 
Republican readers some idea ol the pomp of royalty. 



ROYAL POIIP. 25 

Heralds. 

Joseph Paxton, Esq., Architect. Mr. Fox, Contractor 

Members of the Building Committee. 

Members of the Finance Committee. 

Treasurers. 

Executive Committee. 

Foreign Acting Commissioners. 

Her Majesty's Commissioners. 

Her Majesty's Master of the Ceremonies. 

Foreign Ambassadors, and Ministers. 

F. M. the Duke of Wellington, K. G., F. It the Marquis of Anglesey, K. G. 

Commander-in-Chief. Master-General of the Ordnance. 

Her Majesty's Ministers. 

His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury. 

White Wands ; viz., Comptroller of the Household. 

Treasurer of the Household. 

Vice-Chamberlain. 

Lord Steward. Lord Chamberlain. 

Garter Principal King of Arms. 

His Royal Highness Prince Albert, leading her Royal Highness the 

Princess Royal. 

The Queen, leading his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. 

His Royal Highness the Prince of Prussia. 

Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent. 

His Royal Highness Prince Henry of the Netherlands. 

Her Royal Highness the Princess of Prussia. 

His Royal Highness Prince Frederick William of Prussia. 

Her Royal Highness Princess Mary of Cambridge. 

His Serene Highness Prince Edward of Saxe- Weimar. 

His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge. 

Mistress of the Robes. 

Lady of the Bedchamber, Marchioness of Douro. 

Lady of the Bedchamber in Waiting. 

Maid of Honour in Waiting. Maid of Honour in Waiting. 

Bedchamber Woman in Waiting Lad - V Superintendent-Lady Caroline 

Uarrington. 

Foreign Ladies, and Lady in attendance on H. R. H. the Duchess of Kent. 

Gold Stick in Waiting. Master of the Horse. 

Groom of the Stole to H. R. H. Prince Albert. 

Captain of the Yeoman of the Guard. Captain of the Gentlemen at Arms. 

Master of the Buckhounds. 
Lord of the Bedchamber to H.R.H. Prince t j • -n- - • i. r\ 

Albert in Waiting. Lord m WaitlD ? t0 the Queen " 

Groom of the Bedchamber to H.R.H. n . „- . . , _ 

Prince Albert in Waiting. Gro0m m Wamn £ t0 ^ ^ een ' 

Clerk Marshal. 

Equerry to H.R.H. Prince Albert -r, . .. ~ . „- . . 

M - t-,- •- Equerry to the Queen m Waiting'. 

in vv aitmg. J 

Gentleman Usher. Sod of ^ re Gentleman Usher. 

Silver Stick in Waiting. Field Officer in Brigade Waitn _ 

The Gentlemen in attendance upon their Royal Highnesses the Duchess of Kent, 

the Duke of Cambridge, and the Prince and Princess of Prussia. 

Heralds, &c. 



26 ROYAL POMP. 

After the procession had completed the tour of the Falace, her 
Majesty returned to the dais, and announced " That the Exhibition 
was now open." 

Again the trumpets filled the lofty dome with their triumphant 
echoes; while "the hoarse artillery," from the various batteries in and 
around London, caught up the announcement one from the other, and 
pealed it forth with all their loudest energy. 

Shortly after the ceremonies of the day had concluded, her Majesty 
returned to Buckingham Palace, and the visitors proceeded to examine 
the various departments of the building. 



27 



CHAPTER m. 

ALLOTMENT OF SPACE. 

Now, that the royal pageant has ceased to bewilder us — let us take 
a sober round of the edifice, and " see, what we can see." 

First, then it is to be remarked that the building lies due east and 
west — the transept, crossing it of course, runs north and south. 

One half of the building, ; viz., that to the west of the transept was 
appropriated to the productions of Great Britain, and her dependencies. 
The eastern end containing the contributions of foreign countries and 
the United States. 

It would seem at first sight, from this arrangement, that England 
helped herself to the lion's share of the exhibition. Yet, when we 
consider the difficulties, and expenses of transit from abroad, it will 
not be wondered at that the quantity of British productions exhibited, 
fully justified this enormous disproportion. 

Experience proved that there was room enough for all ; and for one 
nation — our own to wit — a leetle too much, just at first. 

However, what we lacked in quantity, we more than compensated 
for by the quality of our contributions — and the English — who had 
ridiculed the scantiness of our offerings, finally found, that they had 
reason to thank heaven for a supineness, on our part, by which some 
few medals were saved, for distribution among the nations who had 
sent in articles, not subject to American competition! 

But of our success in its turn ! 

The length of the building is 1851 feet, a coincidence curious, if 
not designed, between the length of the Palace, and the date of the 
year in which it was erected. Its breadth 456 feet ; so that the Palace 
covers in extent, about twentv-one acres of ground. 

3 



28 MAGNITUDE OF THE PALACE. 

The lower floor contained nearly 800,000 superficial feet ; to which 
the galleries added 217,000 more, thus making a total surface of 
1,017,000 feet. 

The sides of the building rise like three steps ; the first, twenty-four 
feet from the ground ; and the remaining two twenty feet each, mak- 
ing the total height of the main body of the Palace sixty-four feet. 

The arched form given to the roof of the transept, elevated it some 
ten or twelve feet above the rest of the structure ; and, by this arrange- 
ment, several stately trees, which were at first considered as incum- 
brances to be removed, finally proved — under Paxton's directions — the 
chief ornaments of the interior ; and were preserved, not only unin- 
jured, but more richly luxuriant than ever — adding the picturesque 
charms of nature, to a scene already ornamented with the choicest pro- 
ducts of art and industry. 

To give our readers some idea, faint though it must be, of the " Ex- 
hibition's" magnitude, we may mention that the gutters or drains, on 
its roof, measured thirty-four miles ; and that the sash bars, employed 
in framing the glass, if placed in a straight line, would nearly reach 
from New York to Boston ! 

The total cubical contents of the building, in round numbers, 
amounted to something more than thirty -three millions of feet! — and the 
crystal used in glazing the sides, and roof of the building, weighed four 
hundred tons. 

Those who took a run up to town from the provinces of England — 
"just to see the World's Fair, and return next day" — were rather 
unpleasantly surprised to find, that a walk round the various counters, 
would involve a pedestrian exercise to the damaging extent of twenty- 
one miles ! — and that, to obtain anything like an accurate comprehen- 
sion of the marvels exhibited — a month, and not one meagre day, 
must be devoted to anxious study and research. 

The grand, or carriage entrance to the Crystal Palace, was placed at 
the east end of the building — that nearest to the main entrance gate 
of Hyde Park. 

Private carriages only are admitted within these hallowed precincts; 
and, even with this restriction, it required the unremitting exertions 
of the police to keep the approach to the Palace free from obstruction. 

Each vehicle drove up, in its turn, to the door of the exhibition, 



MAJESTY OF THE LAW. 29 

deposited its occupants, and then awaited their return, in a large open 
space, portioned off as a waiting stand. 

Here may be inserted an anecdote connected with the exhibition, 
which, as a noble vindication of the "majesty of the law." deserves 
especial notice. 

A certain Captain, the Hon. Paulett Somerset, of the Coldstream 
Guards, drove up to the entrance of Hyde Park, in his barouche ; and 
finding the regular mode of access to the exhibition blocked up, he, 
very cavalierly, turned out of the line, with the intention of taking a 
shorter and more expeditious route. 

A policeman ran up, and acquainted him that he must not quit the 
regular procession of carriages — it being contrary to the regulations 
in force for preserving order in the vicinity of the fair. 

The gallant captain, however, despising the remonstrant and re- 
monstrance, persisted in his irregularity ; whereupon Atr. Policeman 
seized the reins, and again repeated his orders. 

Fired by this insult, Captain Somerset consigned the soul of his 
enemy to custody, more safe than pleasant, and next applied himself 
to chastise the offending body with his whip. 

The constable felt the force of this latter argument, and instantly let 
go his hold, determined to find out his assailant's address, and seek the 
satisfaction afforded by law. 

Next day Somerset was summoned, and appeared at the police office, 
accompanied by several brother officers, laughing heartily at the whole 
transaction, and, doubtless, prepared to thump down his $25 — the heav- 
iest money penalty exacted for a common assault in England — never 
dreaming of the alternative, wisely placed within the power of the pre- 
siding magistrate. 

The levity of his behavior betrayed so reckless a disregard of his 
offence; and his well known wealth made the pecuniary mulct so 
utterly inadequate to punish it, that Mr. Hardwicke (let his name be 
handed down to posterity !) resolved to give the Captain in particular, 
and all fast young men, in general, a wholesome lecture and example. 

In lieu, therefore, of the fine, he sentenced the Hon. delinquent to 
ten days' hard labor in the House of Correction, to be dressed in the 
prison clothes, and fed as if, instead of Paulett Somerset, he were poor 
Tom Gubbins, convicted of petty larceny. 



30 CHINA — TUNIS — BRAZIL. 

The contemptuous smile vanished from the Captain's face, as the 
decision, with all its dreadful degradation and train of horrors, rushed 
confusedly through his brain. " Surely the magistrate could not mean 
it !" " He would kindly reconsider his decision ?'' Captain Somerset 
was "prepared to pay any fine — $2500 if $25 were not sufficient." 
"Think of his family! &c." But the worthy magistrate would think 
only of his DUTY ; and the jewelled fingers of the Captain, despite the 
prayers and supplications of his noble relations and friends, were con- 
demned to derogatory oakum -picking. 

All honor, we say, to this "upright judge P' and let him take his 
seat beside that incorruptible chief justice who consigned Henry the 
Vth, (then Prince of Wales,) to prison for contempt of court. 

Allons ! At the west end of the building enclosures were made, 
wherein were deposited specimens of coal, slate, marble, and minerals, 
anchors, chains, life-boats, and other articles, too large and cumbrous, 
to be placed within. 

To avoid confusion, we shall follow the route so faithfully delineated 
in the " mirror of the Crystal Palace." That is to say, we enter by 
the southern entrance, and proceed east up the nave of the building, 
looking only to the southern side. 

Flags, banners, and inscriptions, over each department, furnish us 
with the names of the countries to which the respective productions 
belong. 

The name of China, and a galaxy of curiously-painted lamps, pro- 
mised something strange, if not very novel, from that antediluvian land 
of Mandarins and Souchong; but, a glance sufficed to assure us, that, 
with the exception of some rarely delicate carvings, in ivory, and 
thrice-elaborate-follies in japanned, and inlaid cabinet-work — the celes- 
tial empire cut a very poor figure indeed amongst us benighted terres- 
trials. Some silver filligree work, in this department, however, was 
much admired by the ladies ; and the silks, though tasteless in their 
patterns, were both rich and durable. 

Tunis and Brazil follow. The former with a fine display of bro- 
cade dresses, such as the Tunisian belles and beaux might be supposed 
to wear. Brazil contributed some beautiful and valuable specimens 
of the ores and minerals of her soil, together with a small collection 
of ornamented weapons. 



SWITZERLAND — GENEVA — FRANCE. SI 

Switzerland made an appearance which rather surprised those un- 
acquainted with the resources of this mountainous land. 

Geneva sent watches enough to time the sun and all the planetary 
system by ; and amongst them (the icatches, not the planets) the smallest, 
prettiest little time-piece ever seen. It just fitted into the back of a 
pen-holder ; so that its fortunate possessor could thus reckon the exact 
number of billets-doux she had written within an hour. 

The ribbons, straw plaitings, silks, linens, and embroideries in this 
department, attracted numbers of the fairer sex; while the agricul- 
tural implements, adapted only to the thin and rocky soil of a moun- 
tain country, excited the wonder and curiosity of both English and 
American farmers. 

France next claims our admiration, and proves, indeed, an indispu- 
table right to it. In many articles of utility, both England and 
America far outstripped her ; but in the ornamental, scientific, decora- 
tive, and experimental arts, the whole world furnished nothing at all 
equal to her. 

Unlike the contributors from other countries, who stood aloof one 
from another, each intent only on showing off his own productions to 
the best advantage, the French, with more patriotic taste, resolved to 
render their department as attractive as possible; and, to this end, 
several exhibitors who — from having made early application, were 
allotted the best and most prominent places for the display of their 
commodities — instantly removed their counters to some less attractive 
situation, when it was found that the contributions so brought for- 
ward, militated against the tout ensemble of the division. 

From the looms of Lyons came a rainbow shower of ribbons. The 
gobelin tapestry proved how nearly the needle may be brought to rival 
the painters' art. The Sevres China more than sustained the world- 
wide reputation won by its exquisite patterns, transparency, and 
finish ; while the Parisian jewelry, in point of elegance, far outshone 
all competition ; though, in the intrinsic value of gems and metals, 
London furnished a more costly assortment. 

The Messrs. Leimonier, of the Place Vendome, Paris, (jewellers to 
the Queen of Spain,) furnished a case of bijouterie, which invariably 
attracted, and almost seemed to rivet the lady portion of the visitors 
around it. 



82 ROYAL GEMS. 

On approaching the case, we felt so dazzled with the splendor of 
its contents, that, for a time, it was impossible to discriminate and 
select the loveliest objects from a collection in which all were beauti- 
ful; but when our general admiration and curiosity had sufficiently 
subsided to allow us to descend into detail, the first remarkable object 
which claimed our attention, consisted of a tiara of sapphires, sur- 
rounded by diamonds, with pendants of the same. This was displayed 
to the best advantage, on a velvet helmet. There is something pecu- 
liarly beautiful in the deep pure blue of the sapphire ; and as, from 
some cause or other, it is less frequently imitated than the emerald 
and the diamond, it possesses a freshness to the eye which pleases us. 

Our attention is next directed to a parure of even higher value than 
the last, and of more delicate, though less striking beauty. It con- 
sisted of a bouquet wrought in precious stones. Diamonds were ar- 
ranged in the form of lily-bells ; the buds were composed of pearls, 
and the leaves of emeralds. The whole was mounted on light, droop- 
ing springs, so quiveringly tremulous that every movement presented 
them in new and more sparkling lustre ; so large were the emeralds 
that, but for their intrinsic brilliancy, they might, at a short distance, 
be mistaken for some newly -in vented enamel of peculiar beauty. The 
gathered stems of the flowers were apparently confined together by a 
ribbon of diamonds. 

Another splendid ornament, belonging to her most Catholic Majesty 
of Spain, here exhibited, was a rich necklace of rubies, with alternate 
pearl and emerald pendants. Could it have been intended as a pleas- 
ant memorial of the garotte, so dexterously used in Cuba by her Cap- 
tain-General ? 

The musical department of France exhibited a fine display of 
organs, seraphines, brass instruments, pianos, &c. 

The galleries contained scientific and philosophic apparatus — por- 
traits and miniatures on ivory and China. The French bronzes 
also remarkable for their ideal beauty, and elaborate carving — many 
of them were silvered and plated over ; and several little statuettes of 
this material were gems of art. 

There was but one locomotive engine exhibited in the French de- 
partment ; and, if we are to take it as the highest specimen of their 



FRENCH PIANOS — AMERICAN IMPROVEMENTS. 33 

skill, in this important branch of industry, they did wisely in sending 
us but one. 

M. Erard exhibited some fine pianos, the best indeed in the French 
department ; and yet, to those accustomed to the ' : linked sweetness" 
of New York and Boston instruments, his finest tones seemed crude 
and undeveloped — whether it were a popular delusion or not, we cannot 
B£ rr : : s we do not pretend to judge very critically of music, but there 
was an impression current, throughout England, that the finest piano 
. ri :; in the musical world, were manufactured in London: and when 
the French pointed to E r ". as a maker of celebrity, Mr. Bull dis- 
puted the claim very irresistibly, by, in the first place, denying the 
superiority ; and, in the second, admitting it, for argument's sake, and 
then proving to demonstration, that this so vaunted artist, had served 
his apprenticeship to an English house. 

N : : the least therefore of the laurels gathered around the flag-staff 
of the stars and stripes, were those won by the piano forte makers of 
Boston and Philadelphia. The Messrs. Gilbert and Company, of the 
former place, sent some noble instruments with the aeolian accompa- 
niment, a novelty in England, which extorted the unwilling admira- 
tion of those most interested in supporting the reputation of the Lon- 
don makers. 

Belgium follows ; and presents a characteristic contrast to her pre- 
decessor — indeed the idiosyncracy of each nation could be clearly 
traced in the several departments they occupied, almost as well as by 
a month's residence amongst them — France dazzled in the ornamental 
— Belgium plodded on through nearly all the paths of useful industry 
— but, however desirable, "pure cottons, printed calicoes, mixed 
fabrics, furs, flannels, and oil-cloths" may be, not to mention damasks, 
towels, metal basins, paper hangings, and braziery, we fear our readers 
would grow wearied of the description, and gladly skip a page or two. 
The locomotives from Belgium and Holland, showed very fairly ; and 
though inferior to the productions of Birmingham and Sheffield, were 
yet far in advance of all the European continent. Marine steam 
engines were likewise exhibited in this department ; and though not 
quite such as are used in the Collins' line, several experienced seamen, 
after due consideration, gave it as their opinion, " that it was perfectly 
possible for a vessel to work her way across the Atlantic, in more or 



34 AUSTRIAN ART. 

less time, with the help of such instruments, and her sails — IF coal 
enough could only be stowed away to last her for the voyage!" This 
opinion is worth remembering ; as few, who examined the subject, 
could, otherwise believe the achievement possible. 

Stuffed birds, surgical instruments, zinc mouldings, stoves enough 
to keep up a pleasant warmth at the North Pole ; and bells enough to 
ring the tocsin of insurrection throughout all Europe, completed this 
matter of fact collection. 

Austria follows ; and let not our detestation of the government, 
render us unjust to the genius and industry of the people. Second 
only to France in the ornamental, and far ahead of her in many of the 
useful arts, the Austrian department showed a rich and varied assort- 
ment of beautiful and utilitarian articles. The furniture, carved and 
decorated in the antique style, recalled the halcyon days of chivalry, 
and feudal pomp — it was displayed to the best advantage, not singly, 
but in rooms, regularly fitted up, and furnished in the highest style of 
Viennese fashion — marqueterie, Venetian mirrors, glass, and cande- 
labra, (the plunder, doubtless, of the shattered Eialto,) basso, and alto 
relievos, in silver, gold and china ; purple tapestry, and sculptured 
chimney pieces, scattered around in prodigal profusion, all served to 
do away with the merely bazaar appearance presented by other coun- 
tries; and, so perfect was the illusion, that it seemed as if we had 
lounged away an hour or two in the Palace of St. Stephen, that ren- 
dezvous of every vice and luxury ! 

Oh ! that genius should so degrade itself from its high mission to 
win the praise, and feed the vanity of such a court ! 

But so it is, and the sculpture, in this department, rivalled (if it did 
not surpass) in execution, and far exceeded in quantity, the display 
from all other countries. 

True it is, and still deeper degradation when we find, that the names 
of these Austrian sculptors are Italian ! Signor Galli, the great maestro 
of Milan, sent some noble contributions. The most prominent are, 
"Susanna," exquisite in flesh, but coarsely draped ; "Jeptha's daughter" 
full of life, and full of sorrow. Had it been entitled " The genius of 
Italy" what noble hopes and aspirations would have clustered around 
it, to lend ideal grace to that already beautiful ! — a "youth on the sea 
shore" might just as well be, a "youth on the top of Mount Blanc;" but, 



AUSTEIA — THE ZOLVEEEES". 35 

as a study of form, it was pretty correct ; and had a meditative, yet 
• not painful expression, well suited to "Life's spring time, full of 
dreams." 

A figure of Bacchus, stretched upon a couch of vine leaves, holding 
in his upraised hand a bunch of grapes, was remarkable for its repose 
of attitude, and the pleasant cast of thought which flits around the 
Rosy god. It came, we believe, from the studio of ISTewrini, a Floren- 
tine by birth, who now resides in Vienna. 

"A veiled Circassian Slave" by Monti, attracted the wonder of the 
uninitiated. It represented a girl wearing a thin veil ; through which, 
nevertheless, her features could be distinctly traced ! — and this in 
marble ! By the initiated, or those who support the school of classic 
severity, however, it was condemned as a "trick" unworthy of 
the art. 

"Hagar and Ishmael" by Villa, likewise a Florentine, merited all 
praise; but should we enlarge our catalogue, it would stretch beyond 
the limits of the space allowed us. — And so, adieu to Austria. 

"We now arrive at the Zolverein or German states. 

The first thing that strikes us here, is the infamous taste displayed 
n the general assortment of the goods. Fabrics, the most incongru- 
ous in nature, are jumbled up into one great olio. The colors are ill 
contrasted, and the designs repugnant to each other. 

This incongruity, no doubt, arises, in some measure, from the jeal- 
ousy of the different states of which the Zolverein is composed — each 
seeking to display its own productions to the best advantage, regard- 
less of the detriment such exhibition may be to their next door neigh- 
bors. It is to be regretted that such incongruity marred this other- 
wise most interesting collection ; for, if we examine the various con- 
tributions in detail, we find them praiseworthy and most valuable. 

"We first notice the utilitarian department, not from choice exactly, 
but on the strength of the old proverb, "business first, and play after- 
wards." Saxony presents an endless supply of cloth, hosiery, capet- 
work, and ladies dresses. The Cathedral City of Cologne throws up 
the delicious perfume, to which itself stands godfather, from two 
bright silver fountains; and, in the true spirit of fraternity, invited all 
to dip their kerchiefs in the reservoir, "without money and without 



36 THE ZOLYEREIN — BERLIN ALCHYMISTS. 

price." ISTo small luxury to the wearied and over-heated perambula- 
tors of the exhition ! , 

The mystery-loving genius of Germany plunged deep into the 
science of electricity, that inexplicable, ever-present, all-pervading 
power by which some enthusiasts of high name, hope yet to explain 
all the phenomena of nature, as well the moral, as material. 

The exquisite workmanship of Berlin iron is universally known and 
acknowledged ; and the perfection to which it may be carried in the 
lighter branches of manufacture, was aptly illustrated by M. Seymann. 
In his collection, we had finger rings, brooches, bracelets, and jewel 
caskets, all, most beautiful, and all of iron! — fitting ornaments, it may 
be, for this age of steam and revolution ! 

In these, we find tracery so delicate, and minute, that it is only after 
a careful, almost microscopic inspection, we can realize its beauty, and 
the amount of skill and labor it has cost. Many of these articles will 
fetch treble, and quadruple, the amount of their weight in gold ; and this, 
perhaps, may be the bounteous fulfilment of the alchymist's dream — 
at least the only practical one it is ever likely to receive. For here, 
we have the common household iron, so ignorantly ranked amongst 
the baser metals — even as the workmen of the world are styled, in 
fashionable parlance, the " lower orders!" Here we have iron — under 
the creating hand of toil and genius — elevated to a thrice-exalted 
height above its pompous lord ! 

A sugar-refining machine, looms, carriages, hardware, cutlery, phar- 
maceutical apparatus, pipes, howkas, and cherry-stick tubes, were 
much admired by those best qualified to give an opinion thereabout, 
which, we confess, that we ourselves are not — if we except the three 
last named articles in the inventory ; and on these we could speak lov- 
ingly for pages together. Some of the pipes were of meerschaum, and 
made our very jaws ache with hopeless longings to possess them ; but 
the majority of German pipes are bloated furnaces of china, hot, 
strong, and every way disagreeable — to these we object on economical 
and sanitary grounds. On economical, because china absorbs and 
retains an amount of heat, which consumes tobacco by wholesale, and 
does not absorb the essential oil so generated. On sanitary, because 
the essential oil aforesaid is universally condemned by " the/acuity" as 
deleterious, and eventually destructive to human life. Should these 



TEE ZOETZEEIN — A1IAZOX AND TIGER. 37 

objections fail, we stand upon the rock of comfort, and raise up a cla- 
morous appeal against these instruments of torture. They get so hot 
that you burn your fingers ; they take so long to cool, that you cannot 
fill them without a pause of five or ten minutes, (a space of endurance 
which no true smoker could possibly tolerate.) They send up the 
detestable oil. which they will not absorb themselves, to be absorbed 
by the unhappy inhaler. They may be very prettily ornamented with 
some Swiss cottage, or popular Ballet-girl. But the "jure annihihtor" 
could not save an edifice exposed to the heat of such "a burning 
fiery furnace ; " and the only possible way we can account for the pre- 
sence of the opera dancer, in such a situation, is, to suppose that the 
artist had a bitter satirical turn of humor, and meant thus to afford a 
salutary warning for hereafter, to the scantily-attired female in violet- 
colored shorts, who pirouettes on the left tiptoe, forming with her 
right, an angle of ninety degrees — or that the artist aforesaid was a 
disappointed lover, and so placed her where he wished her to be. 

Fronting this department, in the nave, we have one of the greatest, 
and, certainly, the most striking group of sculpture in the whole 
exhibition. 

It represents an Amazon attached by a Tiger ; and the whole work 
is full of life, passion, and energy. The assailant has sprung upon 
the horse's breast, and plunging deep his claws, as if for a foot-hold, 
into the quivering flesh of the steed — now meditates a spring against 
the rider ; who, drawn back, not as if from fear, but to give force and 
impetus to the stroke, now "hurls the shrilling spear" right to the 
monster's heart. 

It is the work of Keiss, a Prussian sculptor, and was admired not 
only by the casual visitors, but even the artists assembled at the exhi- 
bition confessed their inferiority, and invited the great master to a 
banquet. 

Dresden, Berlin, ^Tyrnphenburgh and Meissen, sent over porcelain 
and china enough to furnish a great " ex7nbitio7i J ' tea-party — had such 
been needed to promote the amity of England's guests ; which, happily 
it was not. For the great number of visitors having attended " The 
Fair," only for a holiday — though they pretended, to their own wives, 
and to their consciences, that they " went to see after busir 
brought with them, both their holiday garments and good humor, 



38 DENMARK, SWEDEN AND NORWAY. 

reserving their ill temper, if such they had, for home and the creditor 
side of their account books. Something in the style of the illustrious 
Irish wit, who used to hang up his hat and his high spirits, in the 
vestibule of his own house. 

Some pretty miniature bronzes were placed in the centre of the 
nave : and, by way of a contrast, we suppose, the Bavarian Lion, (a 
monster in every sense of the word !) stood just in front of them. 

From Stuttgardt came a plaster group of horses, which, as a study 
of animal life, shared the fate of " The veiled Circassian." That is to 
say, the mob admired it, and the few condemned. 

Denmark contributed but little worth attention. Statues of Adam 
and Eve formed the most striking feature of this department. The 
lamented Thorwaldsen has given an aim and impetus to Danish sculp- 
ture, which, may yet lead it on to eminence ; and, in all the figures, 
statuettes, &c., here displayed, we could distinctly trace the merits and 
the faults of the originator's style. That is to say, the drawing was 
correct, the features well proportioned, and highly finished ; but we miss 
from the tout ensemble, that indescribable nature, which floats like a 
rosy mist around the creations of the sunny south. This does not 
express what we would say exactly ; and yet we have no other words 
to typify that lack of easy, careless, languid gracefulness which mars 
all, but more especially, the female figures of Thorswaldsen. 

Sweden and Norway, " Twin Sisters of the frosty North," came 
next; and showed perhaps the homeliest collection of any European 
state. We use the word homely in its true sense — not the common and 
corrupted one — which attaches to a pleasant word, the idea of ugUnaM, 
The Swedish and Norwegian contributions displayed the domestic 
life, and daily avocations of their people. We were shown, not as in 
France, the luxuries and elegancies of life — the jewelry with which 
Fremont and Meurice decorate a royal client — the statues and the gild- 
ings — the china and the tapestry, so prized in palaces, so useless in the 
cottage. Sweden and Norway sent us the rough materials of industry 
in all honest sincerity of purpose ; and if there was little of high art 
to be admired, there was much to be learned of the peasant and sea- 
faring life, followed by the hardy descendants of the old Vikings. 

We had an endless variety of agricultural and quarrying imple- 
ments. Metallurgical apparatus, and mineral products, models of fish- 



A FATOEITE AND A FOE. 89 

ing skiffs, prows, harpoons, and deep-sea lines, carriages, and sledges, 
to be drawn by dogs and horses. Specimens of timber, tar, pitch, tur- 
pentine, and every variety of household utensil, from a state bed to a 
pot-hook. 

Sweden, truly, did not need to exhibit any very dazzling specimen 
of her ornamental and artistic capacities. That has been done in a 
wider area than the World's Fair afforded — in the great world itself — 
and by " the fairest of the Fair" the ever piquante, pretty and most 
marvellously musical nightingale of the north — the Eoyal Jenny, 
empress of the land of song ! 

The double-headed eagle of the Russian banner arrests the eye. Fit 
emblem for that two-faced incarnation of cowardice and tyranny, 
which hovers to the north-east of Europe, flinging down the baleful 
shadow of its power — thank heaven, it is hut a shadow — on all the 
rising germs of freedom, love and social intercourse. This double- 
headed eagle, monstrous in shape, as in cruelty ! — a contradiction and 
a horror to all nature ! This deformity, whose ruthless talons mangled 
the infant liberty of Hungary ; and whose beak was whetted for the 
banquet on the great heart of him, the new Prometheus, whose spirit 
soared to heaven, and brought down the fire of courage, and the light 
of a true Evangel to guide his people, and all peoples through the red 
sea, and the lonely desert of oppression, to the Canaan of freedom and 
equality. 

Heighho ! we are wandering, and must return — and to what pray ? 
To these medallions, and bronzes, these candelabra and perqueterie. 
these vases and mosaics ! — are these all the staple manufactures of 
some sixty millions of men ? or are they not the bribes with which 
some three score million of slaves buy off the tortures of the knout, 
and the silent lifelong sufferings of the Siberian mines? What! not 
one steam engine, printing press, or power loom! not one of the count- 
less shapes of useful industry represented I A jasper vase, and some, 
Caucassian arms — the plunder of some outlying handful of the gallant 
tribe which holds its mountain passes against all the skill and strategy 
of the Cossack hordes, who swarm around them ; and this is Russia ! 
A few bales of flax and hemp, a few barrels of the corn shipped at 
Memel and Odessa, to represent the people — some gaudy ornaments 
to surround the Emperor — and this is Russia's all. 



40 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE UNITED STATES. 

How gladly do we turn from this unwholesome waste, in whieh no 
profitable plant takes root, to tread another soil, to breathe a purer 
air, to walk with head erect and see around us, from all the wide ex- 
panse of an almost boundless territory, the gifts of bounteous Nature 
freely showered around free men; to find. one consecrated spot where 
Freedom lives, and cries — with upraised finger pointing to the eternal 
stars of Heaven — "So long as they endure shall /exist; where'er they 
roll, my steps shall one day follow." 

We bow in silent gratitude and reverence before the rainbow ban- 
ner of our home, and join, with heartfelt earnestness, the } 
"Esbo perpetual 1 '' 

It now becomes our pleasant duty to chronicle the successes of our 
loved land ; and though our industry was not represented in all its 
perfection, nor in one-tenth part of its extent, still the little (compara- 
tively) which we did send, yielded us an abundant harvest of admira- 
tion and astonishment. 

Many causes conspired to promote the scantiness of our offerings. 
Of these we shall mention but a few of the most promii: 

In the first place, then, so many conflicting rumors, as to the pro- 
posed Exhibition, were circulated — not only in this country, but in 
England itself — that it was impossible to form a right conjecture as to 
what its purport, extent, and continuance would be. 

Many of the English papers, especially those in the interest of the 
aristocratic classes, denounced the whole affair as a gigantic "humbug^ 
swindle, and delusion ;" whereas the peoples', or democratic journals, 
represented it as the first scene in the millenium. 



THE SCANTINESS OF AMERICAN CONTRIBUTIONS. 41 

Misled by these conflicting reports, the American press took oppo- 
site views of the project ; and so the public were unable to obtain a 
fair idea of the proposed Industrial Exposition. 

While one paper declaimed against it as a mammoth speculation, 
promoted by Mr. -John Bull for his own selfish ends, another as stoutly 
maintained that the old gentleman had for once foregone his steadfast 
pursuit of gain, and now entered upon a purely philanthropic and 
benevolent task. 

For our own part, we think the truth lies very near the middle 
point between these two extremes; and that the Crystal Palace was the 
result of a philanthropic idea, backed up and carried into execution 
by the prospect of ultimate gain. 

Again; the matter was not taken up by our government in the way 
which enabled Austria, France, and other countries — inferior to us in 
extent, productiveness, industry and enterprise — to make a superior 
display. 

-Let it not be supposed that we regret the non-interference of our 
government in an official shape; for, to our thinking, the less the 
Executive interferes with private speculation, the better for all con- 
cerned. But we mention it, merely as one of the causes militating 
against the consignment of any very great quantity of goods from the 
United States. 

-The Austrian Government took the affair entirely into its own 
hands ; appointed officers to superintend its execution, and took the 
responsibility and charge of the various contributions from the mo- 
ment they left the manufactory, until their return after all was over. 
~ In France the arrangements were very similar, only that the execu- 
tion of the project was vested in the municipal bodies of the chief 
towns and cities contributing, while with us, Americans, all was dif- 
ferent. 

True it is, that the authorities of Washington placed at the disj 
of those wishing to exhibit, a frigate — the St. Lawrence — for the con- 
veyance of their manufactures to England. But this did not at all 
place us on an equal footing with the foreign merchants. For such 
manufacturers as wished to ensure a fair chance to their contributions, 
had either to leave their business, and encounter an Atlantic voyage, 
with all its attendant nausea and discomfort, or to send one of those 



J 



42 THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT. 



connected with their respective establishments, and well acquainted 
with the subject. In either case, the expense would be considerable, 
and the benefit to be received extremely problematic. 
m In the British and Belgian departments, moreover, much of the 
machinery, and nearly all the minerals, had been sent up by local 
subscription, from the various hamlets and petty towns interested in 
giving publicity to their respective productions. Now, in our Western 
States, where a man's neighbor may reside some twenty or thirty miles 
off, this, of course, became impossible. 

Perhaps the last reason may be of weight equal to all the foregoing. 
It is that the United States, having no surplus labor, but rather stand- 
ing in need of perpetual recruitments of strength, bodily and mental, 
to meet and grapple with the natural resources of a soil which every 
day teems with fresh discoveries of hidden wealth — had neither time 
nor inclination, in any great degree, to aid this experiment^ at the cer- 
tain cost it would and must entail. 

Notwithstanding all these drawbacks, many contributions were sent ; 
but, owing to the large space allotted to us, resembled, as the London 
Times bitterly remarked, " the patches of cultivation in some un- 
bounded prairie." 

When the United States Department was first opened to the public, 
the whole press of Great Britain joined (with some few honorable ex- 
ceptions) in one derisive cheer ! and the manufacturers of Birming- 
ham and Manchester plucked up heart again, thinking, after all, they 
had not so much to fear as they at first anticipated from the shrewd 
rivalry of Brother Jonathan. 

But the result taught them differently, and must have recalled for- 
cibly the old wise-saw, that "smooth water runs deep." For, scanty, 
and unpretending as our collection seemed to be, and really w as, the 
contributors from this country carried off more prizes titan any otJter 
nation received/ — and gained one victory over England herself, more 
important than the Exhibition, and all its treasures ten times told I 
We need not say that we allude to the triumph of the Yacht America, 
in the great race, which took place round the Isle of Wight, in the 
summer cf last year. 

We do not in the least exaggerate the importance of this victory — 
indeed that were a task almost impossible — for none can as yet esti- 



J 

SCULPTURE — M1SEBALS- ^43 

mate the value of a triumph which has wrested the " Trident of the 
Main," from the ancestral hands of Britain, and placed it under the 
care of this mighty Confederation. 

Such is the result of the America's success ! Even the British jour- 
nals confessed it, with ill-disguised shame and mortification. 

Those who sought for costly jewels, rich brocades, and ermine robes, 
turned but a peevish glance at our display, and thoughtlessly passed 
on — while to those of farther sight, and wider intellect, the whole of 
Europe's wealth dwarfed down into insignificance, beside the simple 
products of our abundant land. 

In the Fine Arts we had, it must be confessed, no great display. 
But the statues of " the Greek Slave," and " Dying Indian," proved 
that the love of sculpture is growing w r ith our growth, and will one 
day reach a rich maturity. The Greek Slave was invariably the centre 
of an admiring group of critics ; and as a study of perfect form and 
saddened loveliness, it more than merited the high encomiums 
bestowed upon it. 

— In the mineral department, we had the glistening quartz, and golden 
sand of California. 

In the nave was seen a very fine specimen of zinc ore — forming part 
of a collection of zinc and iron from ~New Jersey. 

Ores from Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and JSTew Jersey, containing 
both the oxide and carbonate of iron, were here open to examination ; 
and several blocks of copper attracted the attention of the mining 
interest in no small degree. 

TVe may also direct attention to some very beautiful beryls ; some 
remarkably good specimens of mica, talc, and steatite ; some pure 
felspar, which answers all the purposes of the costly china-stone ; some 
fine blocks of anthracite ; and a large quantity of plumbago of the best 
quality, the uses of which were well illustrated by the fire-proof cast- 
ing-pots and crucibles, manufactured from it. Lastly, and to crown 
the foregoing useful materials, we sent a block of California gold, per- 
fectly pure, and free from dross, weighing upwards of eighteen pounds. 
No bad specimen this of the mineral treasures of our soil ; while the 
bales of cotton, casks of flour, and barrels of beef, pork, &c, bore wit- 
ness to its productiveness ! 

Our wagons, or carriages, as they are called in England, surpassed 

4 



4 



44 AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS — TIIE MESSRS. ALLEN". 

all others in lightness, strength, velocity and durability. The carriages 
made in London, have hitherto borne the highest reputation through- 
out the Continent of Europe, as models of lightness and comfort , and, 
to say truth, beside the lumbering coaches of the Continent, an Eng- 
glish barouche is a luxury. But when placed in juxtaposition with 
similar vehicles of our own manufacture, who could hesitate one 
moment between the trim, almost aerial flying machines of this country, 
and the sluggish iron-clamped conveyances of Great Britain. 

Our agricultural implements furnished a hearty laugh to the would- 
be-wise ones of Europe; but more especially to the "bacon-fed knaves" 
of Yorkshire, Devonshire, Suffolk, Gloucester, and the other agricul- 
tural counties of England. The laugh, however, existed previous to 
their trial only ; and soon fell into a broad gape of astonishment, when 
they saw Hussey's and McCormick's reapers mowing down their crops 
by wholesale, and the ploughs of the Messrs. Allen, of Water Street, 
New York, doing the work of four horses, (under the old system), with 
only one. 

Within our memory — aye ! within the last ten years, there was not 
in the whole city of New York, one solitary house of business, devoted 
entirely to the manufacture, invention, and sale of agricultural im- 
plements. 

If not the first to see and lament this sad deficiency, at least the 
first to seek and apply the proper remedy, were the Messrs. A. B. 
Allen & Co., of Water Street, New York, who, from the small com- 
mencement of an upper floor, in a large warehouse — now hold deserv- 
edly the foremost place as manufacturers of agricultural machinery 
throughout the length and breadth of the land. 

All the implements exhibited by this firm, administered a whole- 
some lesson to continental farmers, as to what they have yet to learn 
from us Backwoodsmen — the name they called us by — but in particular, 
the ploughs of the Messrs. Allen, commanded attention and admira- 
tion. The superiority of the " Improved Worcester Eagle Plow''' — con- 
tributed by this firm — has been so long established in this country, 
that it needed not the gratifying tribute of foreign praise to make us 
appreciate its value. Indeed, the certificates of four hundred pn mural, 
awarded by the various Agricultural Societies of America, to this 
plough, render the feeble homage of our pen, a superfluity. 



HUS-ZY - : KAPEB. 46 

The quality of tlie castings on these implements — their finish and 
durability, economy and lightness — recommended them to the favor 
of British farmers ; and the Messrs. Allen, (we are glad to state), have 
already received orders from all parts of England, France, and Belgium, 
for a large supply of these most useful articles, 

Mr. McCormick of Chicago. Illinois, and Coed Hussey of Baltimore, 
each contributed Eeaping Machines, which took the farming population 
of England by surprise, and established the fame of American inge- 
nuity and mechanical contrivance on a foundation which Time can only 
render more wide and permanent 

Nothing at all like them had hitherto been seen in Europe, and the 
curiosity :: agrienltarisfa was wound np to the highest pitch by their 
appearance, and the marvellous amount of work they were reported 
capable of accomplishing. So perfect appeared to be the mechanism 
of each, that it was impossible to decide, by mere inspection, which had 
the greater advantages : but one thing was evident at a glance — that 
they were both superior to any method of reaping yet adopted either 
in England or the continent 

The experiment was arranged to take place in the autumn of 1851. 
at Tiptree Hall, Mr, Mechi's £ arm ; and so intense was the interest 
excited by this novel contest, that thousands thronged to witness : 
performance and results of the rival Reapers. Prince Albert, himself 
a farmer of no mean ability, was present, and lets ran high on either 
side — one party favoring Hnssey's and the other McCormick" s. Even- 
tually, after a well contested struggle, the latter was deemed to have 
the preference, and received the Eoyal medal. 

Mr Hussey, however, appeals against this decision, and alleges that 
the weather was unfavorable, and further, that :i his machine was driven 
by one unacquainted with its mode of action. ~ We have neither 
space, nor the necessary experience, to enter into this discussion, and 
so resign the matter to the best consideration of those interested in the 
.elation of land, who are the proper judges in such a ease. 

A machine for smutting wheat, invented, patented, and manufac- 
tured by Mr. Leonard Smith, of Troy, excited great and well-merited 
admiration. A cut representing its mode of action will be found in 



V 



46 RAW PKODUCE. 

another part of this pamphlet, and so explains itself, as to need no 
assistance from our pen. This invention has been patented for the 
last eleven years in this country ; but owing to the great home demand 
for it, not one specimen had found its way across the wide Atlantic, 
until the "Great Exhibition" called this, and a thousand other valu- 
able contrivances, from the narrow sphere of local importance, to assist 
the march of universal progress. 

In agricultural produce, our success was even superior to our hopes. 
Every variety of grain and wheat, fruit, cotton, flax, and timber — 
everything in short, from a pine-tree to peach-pie was here. 

We stood no chance of hunger in this department, for casks of flour 
abounded; and, seen through the thin glass-plates, with which they 
were topped, presented a most inviting appearance. The cooperage 
of these casks shared the admiration lavished on the contents, so 
cleanly, neatly, and yet firmly, were they made. 

Some barrels of prime beef, cured and arranged, in a species of 
mosaic of red and white, fat and lean, presented a very tempting ap- 
pearance beneath the broad glass-plates, which kept off the atmosphere, 
and the unhallowed fingers of curious housewives — many a longing 
look was directed towards a sample of pork similarly displayed — and 
the crystal jars of peaches, intended for her majesty, (which, ere this, 
her royal palate has doubtless appreciated), fairly raised an appetite 
throughout the exhibition. 

The hams cured and sent by the Messrs. Schooley & Hough, of Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio, received the prize medal from the Eoyal Commissioners, 
in addition to the many premiums they had already won at home ; the 
Commissioners, not content with the ordinary mode of examination, 
resolved to dine on one of the hams sent by this firm ; and they invited 
Prince Albert, Queen Victoria, and the Hon. Abbot, to taste the ban- 
quet furnished by the " Queen City" of the West. 

Bales of raw cotton, and specimens of the cotton plant, were here 
seen ; and a glance at the stuff, misnamed cotton, which the English 
triumphantly exhibited in the East Indian court, at once assured us 
how little we have to dread such competition. It is as inferior to ours 

as cotton is to silk ; the color is a species of yellowish brown the 

fibre is very coarse and brittle ; and it is said moreover, that various 



y 

COTTON — THE AMOSKEAG COMPANY. 47 

of the dye stuffs used in printing calicoes, produce a dry rot or rust in 
this material, which renders it unserviceable. 

The spinning-lords of Manchester, introduced this so-called cotton 
with a great flourish of trumpets, thinking, forsooth, to hoodwink the 
simple American exporters, and lead them to believe that England is 
not dependent for her greatest manufacture, on the supply of raw ma- 
terial from this country. But they failed egregiously ; and until they 
can find some better substitute than this, our producers will and must 
obtain their own price for whatever cotton they export. Though we 
trust the day is not far distant, when the cotton-mill will quietly settle 
down within a stone's-throw of the plantation on this side of the water; 
and so keep at home the enormous profits now realized by capitalists 
three thousand miles distant ! 

Already the question has suggested itself to the enterprising men 
of this New World ; and, as illustrative of the benefits which the 
practical working out of this system has already conferred, both upon 
its projectors and the country, we cannot refrain from entering into 
some details relative to the thriving town of Manchester, New Hamp- 
shire, and its greatest benefactors, the Amoskeag Manufacturing 
Company. 

In the year 1838, one solitary house, rising in a little clearance 
made in a dense forest of pine trees, marked the site of the now flour- 
ishing Manchester. 

Scarcely a dozen years have rolled away ; and yet what do we find ? 
A spacious city, containing long streets and rows of dazzling win- 
dows, splendid public buildings, schools, and theatres ; and all this 
vast prosperity the result of what ? TVhy, of the enterprising spirit 
with which a few men here started a factory, and worked it so suc- 
cessfully that the hands employed in it soon formed an extensive 
population, to which each day adds fresh recruits. 

Has not the country received a benefit ? And let some statistics, 
which are now before us, relative to the Amoskeag Company. ; 
the doubtful of the feasibility and profit of this scheme. 

The capital of the Company now amounts to $3,( ! more than 

is employed in any similar corporation, we believe, throughout the 
United States. It has 62.000 spindles, and 1,645 looms, constantly 
worked by two thousand Jive hundred operatives, and makes annually, 



J 



43 CLOTHING DEPARTMENT, ETC. 

from No. 15 yarn, twenty millions of yards of the following fabrics: 
Tickings, sheetings, drillings, cotton flannels, denims, striped shirtings, 
and mariners stripes of every width and grade. 

For several of these articles, the Company obtained prizes at the 
great " Exhibition ;" but this can little affect a business in which the 
demand has for years outstripped the possibility of supply. 

We have drawn attention to this Company, in the humble hope that 
the astonishing success it has realized, may induce other capitalists to 
embark their idle wealth in a speculation so fraught with advantages 
both to themselves and the community at large. 

The printed fabrics and cottons exhibited in the American Depart- 
ment, fully equalled any exhibited in the British ; and it needs but 
one effort of this great people's will, to retain at home that most pro- 
ductive and extensive manufacture to which the centre and north of 
England are indebted for commercial prosperity. 

We now turn to the clothing department ; and — though it is not 
one in which we excel — the rapid improvement visible in American 
cloth, vestings, and other stuffs, holds out good promise of future ex- 
cellence. In lightness and elegance, both France and Saxony sur- 
pass us. Nor can we be supposed to outvie, as yet, the broadcloth 
made in the West of England, where this manufacture has been car- 
ried on for centuries ; but the display in our department proved most 
satisfactory; and we feel assured that, within a few years, the skill, 
wealth, and enterprise of our fellow-citizens will overtake and run 
down the monopoly now enjoyed, in a great measure, by the English 
wool staplers. 

The renowned (renin, avIio boasts himself the head of his trade — 
and certainly enjoys a great trade in heads — displayed some of his 
finest gossamer hats, which, in lightness, shape, and polish, far excelled 
the beaver helmets of Great Britain. "Mrs. Partington" objected to 
them, on the ground that they would make young men light-!, 
to which the ever-ready Mr. Genin promptly replied, that, as a tem- 
perance man, he would rather see them so, than " top-heavy /" 

It is probably known to our readers that the English proprietors of 
the Bramah patent lock — relying on its often-tested and supposed- 
infallible security — offered a reward of $1,000 to any one who could 
pick it. Mr. Hobbs, an American mechanician, opened it with ease ; 



s 

DAGUERREOTYPES — SIX-BARRELED PISTOLS, ETC. 49 

while a safety lock sent from this country, defied the ingenuity of all 
Europe to move a bolt in it. 

Our daguerreotypes were amongst the best exhibited ; and Mr. M. 
M. Lawrence, of .203 Broadway, New York, was awarded a first-class 
premium for the fidelity of his likenesses, and the excellent manage- 
ment of light and shade, by which the usual sombre character of 
daguerreotype miniatures was obviated. His fame circulated not only 
through Christian Europe, but reached the Mosques and Cupolas of 
Constantinople — and some grand Pacha, of innumerable tails — whose 
name we happen to forget — immediately sent an order to Xew York 
for a set of Lawrence's improTed instruments, and such instructions as 
would enable the said Pacha to take off the faces of the " faithful, " and 
not their heads, as was done in the good old time of the bowstring and 
bastinado; vide the Arabian lights, "the Bride of Abydos," and all 
the other eastern romances and romancers. 

Our revolving six-barrelled-pistols excited the attention of the mili- 
tary authorities ; and so quickly was the value of this contribution 
appreciated, that some troops of Hussars, about to be dispatched to 
the Cape of Good Hope, to assist Sir Harry Smith, the Colonial Gov- 
ernor, in quelling an insurrection of the Kaffirs, or native tribes, were 
supplied with this "death-dealing weapon ;" and, doubtless, ere many 
years have rolled away, the cavalry of all Europe will be armed 
with it. 

In the mechanical department, the invention of the Messrs. 
McAdams, of State Street, Boston, was much admired, for its utility, 
and the amount of manual labor which it saved. It was a machine 
for paging blank books ; and consisted of a series, or chain of type, 
arranged in progressive numbers, on a frame, something similar in 
principle to a spinning-wheel — at each impression of the iredh, a 
fresh page was turned over, and appropriately numbered — so rapidly 
will this work, that thirty thousand sheets can be lettered within an 
hour. 

The Messrs. McAdams having thus supplied us with blank books, 
Mr. TT. A. Dunlop, of New Orleans, offered to fill them with such 
specimens. of caligraphy, as few would undertake to rival. Mr. Dun- 
lop sent an invoice of cotton, containing 24,800 figures in the space of 
six square inches. The bill of lading, with full particulars, occupied 



, 



50 PRACTICAL ANATOMY, ETC. 

the size of a shilling. The charter party, policy of insurance, bills of 
exchange, &c, were equally small, and illustrated with vignettes, which 
could hardly be distinguished from steel engravings — all this was ex- 
ecuted with a "gray goose quill," and could be distinctly read by the 
unassisted eye. 

Our Piano Fortes were amongst the best exhibited, and contained 
many novelties, both in structure and arrangement. Those from New 
York, Boston, and Philadelphia, commanded universal praise ; and not 
the least admired of these noble instruments, was that to which the 
aeolian accompaniment is attached. 

Furs, dental instruments, and shoes, boots, clocks and watches, bells, 
telegraphs, and textile fabrics — Indian shawls, apergnes, prints and 
paper-hangings — philosophical instruments, lithographs, and perfum- 
ery, shaving soaps, stuffed birds, and ship-rigging — stoves, bedsteads, 
carpeting, and saddles, were ranged along the counters — chandeliers, 
and candelabra of bronze, gilt, silvered, and most delicately carved, 
appeared in their appointed places; and mirrors, mirror frames, and 
architectural designs were seen along the walls. 

In the department of practical anatomy, the instruments and prepa- 
tions from the United States, demonstrated the high perfection to 
which the surgical and medicinal arts have been carried out among us. 
Dr. D. K. Hitchcock, of Boston, Mass., contributed a case of dentistry, 
which far surpassed the artificial teeth of Europe. This, indeed, was 
acknowledged by the Professors both of Paris, and London, with a 
candor which does them honor ; and many important improvements, 
both in the theory and practice of dental surgery, introduced by Dr. 
Hitchcock, were eagerly adopted in the French and English schools, 
devoted to the study of this science. The dental art in America has 
made the most rapid progress within the last twenty years. In 1839, 
the " American Journal and Library of Dental Science," was estab- 
lished, and thus the scattered rays of discovery and experience were 
collected into one great focus from all the practitioners throughout the 
States. This journal aroused the dormant energies of scores, who had 
acquired the mysteries of the profession by years of study ami expe- 
rience ; they had now an appropriate organ, and through its columns, 
they made public the results of their abundant practice. 

Mr. Frank B. Palmer, of Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, was awarded 
a first prize medal for the artificial leg which he contributed : this limb 



/ 



PALMER'S ARTIFICIAL LEG, ETC. 51 

differs from and surpasses every thing of the kind, which surgical in- 
genuity and anatomical skill has yet invented for the relief of suffer- 
ing humanity. The articulations of the knee, ankle, and the toes, bear 
the closest resemblance to natural joints; and by a combination of 
tendons and springs, the functions of the tendo achillis, flexor, exten- 
sor, and other muscles, are admirably performed. The natural form 
of the leg is perfectly imitated ; and a covering, protected by a skin- 
colored varnish, impervious to water, gives an admirable finish to the 
whole. We quote the following remarks of the London Times of 
September 19, 1851, as flattering to Mr. Palmer, and illustrative of the 
opinion held by Englishmen of the American chara:: :~. 

" We have to introduce to the notice of the public another triumph 
of American ingenuity included in that department of the Exhibition, 
but which in some way or other has hitherto escaped observation. 
The Marquis of Anglesey will hear with a feeling of satisfaction, that 
if our cousins beat us in yacht-building, they are equally pre-eminent in 
the manufacture of artificial legs. In the latter branch of industry 
their superiority will not be grudged, and they really owe society some 
act of reparation for having introduced among us Colt's revolvers. 
The artificial leg patented by Mr. Palmer, is, in its way, a most admi- 
rable, ingenious, and philanthropic contrivance, and its invention is so 
remarkably characteristic of the country from whence it comes, that 
we cannot resist the temptation of inviting attention to it. The paten- 
tee in some way or other lost his leg, and, having tried the bes: sub- 
stitutes hitherto devised for such a case, like a true American, he set 
himself to think whether he could not improve upon them. His study 
of the subject was crowned with the most striking success, and he ex- 
emplifies that success in his own person by walking about almost 
without any perceptible lameness, and with an apparent ease and com- 
fort which are truly surprising." 

The essential oil of peppermint manufactured, and sent by the 
Messrs. G. H. & L. B. Hotchkiss, of Lyons, ]S"ew York State, obtained 
a premium for its purity and excellence. This oil is extracted from a 
species of mint, once believed to be indigenous to Great Britain, and 
incapable of transplantation. The Messrs. Hotchkiss, however. - 
pated this popular delusion; and by a judicious system of culture, and 
a frequent change of soil, have brought the shrub to a richer growth, 
and larger development than it ever reached in its native land. This 
oil is much used fox correcting nausea, and giving a tone to the diges- 
tive organs. Confectioners likewise have a large demand for it, as an 
ingredient in their lozenges, and other toothsome commoditi - 



J 



52 



CHALLENGE CUP WON BY THE AMERICA. 



On the whole we have every reason to congratulate ourselves on the 
display we made ; and though the nations of Europe have not yet 
seen all our strength, we have already taught them to respect and 
dread the competition and resources of our country. 

We excited the astonishment of Europe, both at the beginning and 
the close of the great exposition. 

In the first instance, the wonder was, that we should send so little ; 
and, in the second, when the premiums were awarded, that, with so 
little, we had achieved so much. 

We present to our readers an accurate and beautiful engraving of 
the challenge cup, won by the "America" from the whole yacht squad- 
ron of Great Britain, in the ever-memorable race round the Isle of 
Wight. This cup is now the highest trophy, and will hereafter be a noble 
monument, of America's first claim to the supremacy of the ocean ! 




y 

53 



CHAPTEE Y. 

ITALY — SPATS' — POKTUGAL, ETC. 

We have lingered so long -within the precincts of our own depart- 
ment, that we have but little space wherein to enumerate the contri- 
butions of the remaining nations. 

Fortunately, however — with the exception of Great Britain — we 
have noticed the leading industrial nations of the Continent — and 
should our cursory review offend the minor states, we can but plead 
that want of space, and not of inclination, compels us to brevity. 

From shattered Italy, the Niobe of nations — from 

" The land 



" That was the widest in its old command, 

•' And is the loveliest ; and must ever be 
" The master work of Nature's heavenly hand, 

" Wherein were cast the heroic and the free, 
" The beautiful, the brave, the Lords of Earth and Sea," 

as Byron sings it in his sublimest mood, we had comparatively noth- 
ing worthy of the fame Italian genius has acquired, "Wrenched with 
internal discord, and trodden down beneath the Eusso-Austrian despot- 
ism, the free spirit of Italy betakes itself either to exile, or the Brigand's 
fastness. Some with prostituted talents bow the supple knee, and 
take the hire of tyranny. But Genius — Dante's, Petrarch's, Michael 
Angelo's, Guiclo's — will they sing in Pa^an hymns the slaughter of their 
brethren, kindred, and countrymen? — will they lend their heavenly 
art to build the Palace of Iniquity, and paint the Jezebel who lives 
within it ? — assuredly not ! The dawn of liberty is the seed-time of 
true genius ; the meridian of established freedom, the harvest of the 
noble arts. 

jh of the sculpture exhibited in :"_r Austrian department, prop- 



54 SPAIN — PORTUGAL — EGYPT AND TURKEY. 

erly belonged to this ; having been taken either by coercion, or bri- 
bery, from the Lombardo- Venetian provinces, now appended to the 
house of Hapsburgh Lorraine. 

A statue of Bacchus, by Vecini, possessed considerable merit : some 
bronzes were much admired, and the mosaic tables were really beauti- 
ful — so well were the colors chosen, and so neatly had the stones been 
inlaid, that at a short distance, the work was frequently supposed to 
be a richly-toned oil painting. 

Marqueterie ; carvings in chestnut-wood for altar screens, and archi- 
tectural embellishment ; and some anatomical models in wax, were the 
most prominent remaining objects of the collection. 

Spain sent some very beautiful figured silks, and embossed leathers 
— a collection of very delicate and costly lace, beside some samples of 
linen, hemp, and marble. The ancient city of Toledo contributed a 
few specimens of the matchless swords, which have spread the fame 
of a Toledo-blade throughout the world. One of these was beautiful, 
and very remarkable ; the sheath was formed of silver, in a serpent- 
curl, so that it fitted round the body of the wearer like a belt. 

Into this, the sword could be driven without the application of un- 
usual violence ; and }~et when drawn again, the keenly-tempered steel 
sprang forth, as sharp and straight a weapon as ever clanked along 
the marble courts of the Alhambra, or Escurial. 

Portugal sent wines, minerals, woolens, and raw produce. 

From Egypt and Turkey we had some superb silks and velvets — 
rich brocades to deck the swarthy lord, and broidered muslins for the 
secluded treasures of his Harem. A wretched display of agricultural 
implements, some undressed furs, a few bales of leather, tolerable car- 
pets, and luxurious pillows, nearly completed the offerings from the 
descendants of the Pharaoh's, and the Prophet. European civiliza- 
tion, however, under the enlightened sway of the present Emperor, is 
now making rapid advances in Turkey. 

All religions are left unshackled to follow out their own convictions; 
and, in this respect, the unbelieving Moslem hold up a bright contrast 
to their more favored neighbor, Austria. The Christian religion is 
freely professed by all who choose to embrace its tenets ; and the 
Turkish army is now being reformed on the British mode of discipline — 
some attempts at agriculture and manufacture, are being introduced 



J 

PERSIA — AEABIA, ETC. 55 

into the empire ; and the gallant conduct of the sublime Porte in de- 
fending Kossuth from the malignity of the Czar, has drawn an amount 
of sympathy and active interest in the development of Ottoman pros- 
perity, from numbers of our fellow-citizens, and from the thinking 
portion of the English people, which cannot fail to have a great effect 
upon the after progress of the nation. 

Persia and Arabia followed ; and the former was generally occupied 
by detachments of the fairer sex — cashmere shawls, and spangled mus- 
lins, proving an irresistible attraction ; the carpets, curtains, and em- 
broideries, from Lspahan, however, disappointed those who looked for 
extraordinary beauty. 

From Arabia we had some bags of coffee — not chicory and brick- 
dust, be it remarked ! but the genuine aromatic berry, which our soul 
loveth, in all its purity, and sweetness of taste, perfume, and color. 
A few boxes of spices, sabres, pistols, and horse accoutrements, toge- 
ther with the primitive furniture of a desert tent, completed the dis- 
play made by the children of Ishmael. 

We cannot pause to notice the contributions made by the Abori- 
gines. They were curious as developments of progress from the first 
dawn of human intelligence, regularly graduated on to the commence- 
ment of modern civilization. The lowest race in the scale of humanity 
seemed to be the Bosjesmen, or native denizens of Australia. It is 
even said that some tribes in the interior of the Australian Continent 
are not yet acquainted with the properties and use of fire ; but this we 
can hardly believe — certain it is that they have no attempt at domestic 
utensils, or furniture of any kind. Their sole manufacture, if such it 
can be called, is confined to war clubs, and weapons headed with flints 
and fish-bones ; their only covering is cut out of undressed hides ; and 
they have neither boat, canoe, or raft. The red tribes of Xorth America 
stand infinitely higher in the intellectual scale ; and in the Canadian 
department much of their work was shown and admired. 

Having now passed, thus hastily, through the concluding portion of 
the foreign department, we reach the transept, linger in its precincts 
awhile to scan its beauties, saunter through the British department, 
and so make our exit from the Crystal Palace by the door at the 
western extremity. 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE TRANSEPT. THE FOUNTAIN. 




On entering the transept the first thing which arrested the eye 
was the gigantic Crystal Fountain, designed and manufactured, we 
believe, by Mr. Osier, of London. It was of exquisite and fantastic 
workmanship — the pure, cool water flowing over mimic rocks of equal 
purity and lustre, fell with a low murmuring cadence into the great 



COSMOPOLITAN APPEARANCE OF THE EXHIBITION. 57 

crystal basin beneath, and thus afforded a delicious draught to the tired 
and over-heated visitors. 

0! fons Bandusise ! spleodidior vitro ! — 

Why did no modern Horace arise to celebrate this fairy creation of 
man's art, assisted as it -was, by all the adjuncts of sculpture, painting, 
and decorative embellishment, mingled with the loveliness of nature! 
"We dropped into a seat beneath those green and ancient elms — im- 
mortalized by the wit and brilliant repartee of Congreve, as the 
shadowy saunter of the powdered beaux, and painted belles, his pen 
so faithfully portrayed, and satirized. Our eyes rested on the ever- 
flowing waters, as they wreathed around the crystal pillars of the 
fountain, and trickled brightly down above the arrowy golden-fish, as 
they darted sportively around their shining prison house. Delicate 
flowering shrubs — ail green with youth, and blushing in excess of 
beauty — sprung up around the gilded ornaments, and wondrous statues 
of the enchanted dome. Yases of porphyry and agate, sculptured 
urns, and china frames contained 

" The choicest blossoms that the Eastern sun 

" Awakens with a kiss — but Judas-like — 

" Soon robs of perfume, and refreshing dew." 

The deep-toned organ swelled along the galleries and through the 
aisles a flood of solemn music ceaselessly. The " hunger of the eye" 
was satiated ; and even that restless sprite, the imagination, folded her 
many-colored wings, and cried: "Jam content!'' 1 

The elms spread, silent and majestic; no waving branches gave 
sign of life ; the silvery walls of the Palace, and its high arched 
transept, glittered round and above us, cold and immovable, But 
what a tide of life rolled into and beneath the transparent edifice ! 
What a Babel of tongues ! what motley dresses, manners, and charac- 
teristics ! 

Here the polite Parisian, in paletot and patent boots, elbows his 
way through a crowd of country bumpkins, in Guernsey frocks and 
high-low boots. There a "turbaned, not malevolent, Turk" finds 
himself playing supernumerary beadle to a legion of shiny-faced 
charity boys in yellow stockings and leather caps. A cute down- 
easter gets himself inextricably mixed up with a young lady's Semi- 
nary from Clapham, and calculates he's in a fix. An Austrian General 



58 HAYNATj! — WHAT THE FRENCH THOUGHT OF LONDON. 

saunters by a fiercely whiskered German Democrat, nor heeds the 
muttered curses of the exiled patriot. Ledru Eollin and Louis Blanc 
chatted familiarly with the officers of the French Police, who, could 
they but catch the same soi disant philosophers on the other side of 
the Straits of Dover, would pounce upon them with a joy unspeaka- 
ble, and lead them either to the galleys or the scaffold. 

Mazini, pale, silent, thoughtful, and with failing strength, seats him- 
self, it may be, on the same bench with Oudinot de Reggio, the marshal 
sent by fratricidal France to crush the young Eepublic of the seven- 
hilled city. 

Why did the obstreperous draymen in the employ of the Messrs. 
Barclay & Perkins, hunt down the illustrious Haynau? We, Ameri- 
cans, sent "baby -jumpers." Why did not Austria exhibit its patent 
" woman-flogger ?" There might have been a demand for Haynau's 
in the seraglios of the East ; and surely Vienna could supply the 
largest order. 

Countless curious and amusing anomalies were presented, in ever- 
varying succession, to the visitor, by the crowds who thronged the 
portals, galleries, and avenues of the great "Exhibition." 

London became the cosmopolitan centre to which all points of the 
earth converged. Large as its population has ever been, the year 
1851 nearly doubled it, by the influx of strangers it poured in by 
every train from Dover, Southampton, Bristol, and Liverpool. 

We, Americans, a migratory people, and accustomed "to take things 
cool," found nothing very novel or surprising in the appearance of the 
British capital ; but, with the nations of the European Continent, who 
seldom travel, all was new and wonderful. 

Frenchmen of the highest standing in art, arms, literature, and the 
learned professions, found a world to satisfy their wants and wishes in 
u La belle France" and never cast an eye beyond their native bounda- 
ries. 

Germans were similarly ignorant of all but the loved fatherland, 
and wondered whether it were disease of mind or body, or both com- 
bined, that sprinkled their mineral springs and watering-places with 
English visitors, "as thick as fall the yellow leaves in chill October 
weather." 

But, nous avons change tout cela, as the French Doctor said; and 



REVOLUTION OF SENTIMENT — FOREIGN CRITICISM. 59 

what with the facilities of transit afforded by the iron horse, and the 
attractions of the Crystal Palace, the stay-at-home continentals became 
suddenly smitten with a love of "going down to the sea in ships," and 
visiting strange parts. 

Much good has already resulted from this interchange of visits ; 
and a whole host of errors, misconceptions, and prejudices relative to 
national characteristics, have been quietly inurned in the tomb of 
all the Capulets. 

The old joke about the gloom, smoke and dirt of the modern Babv- 
ion has been confuted satisfactorily, though it has been, for centuries, 
the foremost article of the Parisian creed. "Dirty London' 1 '' produced 
the gayest, lightest, prettiest, most fairy-like, and original building 
ever seen. Let us trust that our own Palace in New York will rival, 
if it does not outstrip its predecessor ! 

The imputed austerity, inhospitality, and semi-lunacy of English- 
men has been condemned as unfit for further service. Every British 
nobleman does not '''sell hi: ieldj' (Trench traditions not- 

withstanding) ; and there are several more words in Johnston's Dic- 
tionary beside "Bodbifp* and lt Goddem. n 

Accustomed to the gardens of the Tuileries, St. Cloud. Versailles, 
and the champs Elysee. it is not to be wondered at that the Messieurs 
Francais quizzed old Mr. Bull a good deal about his attempts at parks 
and fountains. Above all, the unhappy squirts in Trafalgar Square, 
suffered under the lash of sarcasm. The statues of England's nota- 
bilities, dead and alive, likewise came in for many a bitter criticism. 
We heard one Frenchman, as he stood before the gigantic abomina- 
tion, called a statue of the Duke of "Wellington, which disfigures the 
classic arch on Constitution Hill, cry out in ecstacy : "Thank heaven f 
we are avenged for Waterloo V 

The foreign visitors were deceived as to London — pleasantly de- 
ceived — for they expected an inhospitable soil, climate, and popula- 
tion ; they found the exact reverse of these; and in the tone of French 
literature, before and after the Exhibition, in the pamphlets, vaude- 
villes, and newspaper press, we find a full acknowledgment and ample 
reparation of the mistake. We quote a free translation, taken from 
one of the most popular comedies in the Parisian Theatre, as illustra- 
tive of this revolution in sentiment. It is sung by a chorus of ex- 
hibitors from the various departments of France. 



/ 

S 60 A NEW SONG. 

THE CRYSTAL PALACE; OR, THE THRONE AND WORKSHOP. 
I. 
"Chaquc Industrie, exposant ses trophies 
Dans ce bazar du progres general, 
Semble avoir pris la baguette desfeex 

Pour enrichir le Palais de Crist al .'" <.\c, <5fc. 

" While all the arts with trophies bright 

To prove the wide world's wealth combine ; 
It seems as though some genial sprite 
Had helped to deck the Crystal shrine ! 

ii. 

" Be England long to fame endeared, 
Who — bidding rival passions cease — 
Extends to those she lately feared 
The hand of welcome and of peace ! 

in. 
" To all the world a challenge speeds, 
And on her hospitable soil, 
To the red strife of War succeeds 
The bloodless tilt of Art and toil. 

IV. 

" The lords of Labor pile on high 

Their triumphs 'neath the shining dome ; 
And sing no longer ' Let us die,'' 

But ' Live to bless our native home !' 

v. 
" Our battle-field a Palace gay ! 

Our victors robes unstained and white ! 
The peaceful ivorkman bears away 
The cross of honor from the fight ! 

VI. 

" The rich, the learned, the gifted sons 
Of art and laijor throng the hall ; 
A band of brethren, knit at once 

To bless the green earth, free to all ! 

VII. 

" Then courage! Ceaseless toil will bring 
The workshop level with the throne ! 
And all the titles of a king, 

Be naught to that wo laborers own !" 

[The original of this spirited version occurs in the Vaudeville of " Le Palais du 
Cristal," by Messrs. Clariville and Jules Cordier. We have not space to quote it m 
extcruo. ] 



THE BRITISH DIVISION — THE HO WD AH. 61 

mus : return to our task, and ran through, th^ iivision 

as fast as may be. It is not necessary that we should give a full in- 
ventory of this department — indeed, within the narrow limits of this 
rapid sketch, that were a task impossible. Britain — fighting on her 

:. ground, with every facility of transit, the eei fcainty c f 3 ; 
gain, and all the resources of a centralized government, mac 
be well imagined, an enormous and most brilliant The 

mighty empire :i on which the sun nevei sets," rare - choicest 

gifts at her command — Asiatic India, Canada and the British ?: ; 
of North America, the West Indian Islands, Southern Africa, th e 
tinent of Australia, Borneo. Malta and the Channel L- ads all were 
ransacked for their richest and most curious product: r 

In the East Indian department the Ml :: B E 

attracted observation. It had all the trappings complete, and was fit 
to be placed on the elephant's back as it stood. This dah had two 
seats in front, and two behind, each being surmounted by arched 

mes of inlaid ivory and gold. The sides were made entirely of 
ivory, studded with precious stones, inlaid with ebony, and were 
partly covered by a :.;;-. gorgeously worked in gold and silver 
brocade, which acted as a protection from the sun. T_ 
saddle, on which the howclah rests, was very magnificent: the body 
being of velvet, with a thick embroidery of gold and silver fringe. 

A throne, or native reception seat, of ivory, nest aroused our admi- 
ration and curiosity. It was carved with the fanciful and sfrotesc 
figures of the East, and studded like the howdah, with diam 
emeralds, and rubies. The u Shamiana," or canopy of purple velvet, 
most elaborately worked, was about eleven feet square, and rested on 
four solid silver pillars, seven feet high each. A circular centre, 
worked in gold, silver, pearls, and carbuncles, had a beautiful 
and a border, nearly three feet deep of gold and silver filligr 
very little of the groundwork of the velvet visibl B : t h tl 
and throne, were sent as presents to Victoria, by his High n 2 ss the Nc 
.. one of the tributary princes of Bengal. 

A crowd of fashionables eagerly peeping over each other's sbould- 
prized us of some novelty — we worked our way in, and found 
— what ? — a piece of glass irregularly shaped, without lustre, or design, 
or beauty of any kind : and yet this is the ladies' loadstar — the ' 




THE KOH-I-NOOR DIAMOND. 



THE KOH-I-NOOR DIAMOND — CANADA. 63 

to-be-sufficientl y-admired Koh-i-noor diamond !" Is not Shakespeare 

ri £ _i: -.\ier. ~nr =:.-= — 

'' Dumb jewels often, in their silent hind, 
More than quick deeds will more a woman's mind V 

This Koh-i-noor, or mountain of light, which, by the bye, had not 
a sparkle in it, though they tried gas in a dark box to bring out its 
brilliancy — is said to hare formed one of the eyes of the jewelled 
peacock, which ornamented the imperial throne of Arungzebee. It 
is variously estimated as worth from fk e :: fifteen millions of dollars. 
The twin eye is among the jewels of the Czar, and weighs only 139 
T_r East India Company exhibited the durra-i-noor, or sea of 
light — a diamond mounted as a royal armlet and surrounded by ten 
smaller brilliants ; each, in itself a more than moderate fortune. 

The Messrs. Hunt and Eoskell, of London, exhibited the Bijouterie, 
collected by the late Mr. H. P. Hope, a wealthy banker, who had a 
monomania for the precious stones. Here we had diamonds, pure, 
green, blue, pink, flame color, and one as black as its cousin of the coal 
mine — bright blue sapphires — blossom-red rubies. The precious opal 
a rare stone, golden yellow, emerald green, flame red, and iridescent 
purple. A pearl two inches long, and four inches in circumference. 
The topaz stone, pink, yellow, white and parti-colored. Aqua marines, 
garnets, carbuncles, amethysts, tourquoise, onyx, and chrysoberyls, 
with a legion of dazzling gems unknown to us by name, all se: in 
beautiful and costly ornaments, and vied with similar treasures, pro- 
fusely scattered through the Indian department, and shown by other 
jewellers along the British division. 

A splendid silk trophy stood at the west end of the building. It 
was fifty-seven feet high, and richly draped from the top with the 
most gorgeous silks, damasks, brocatelles, tabar. i ':. the sides 

of the base being filled with mirrors of the largest dimensions, reflected 
the arrangement :: the Irapery to the best advantage. 

:. iian department was much frequented, especially by the 
agricultural visitors. The farmers of England, ss-eighed down by the 
enormous imposts of the imperial revenue, and the national debt, 

:. a hopeful glance to the " - .. :s of land which 
to cry for labor on this side of the Atlantic The display of timber, 
I - minerals, sleighs, carriages, and agricultural products in this 



64 



THE BRITISH PROVINCES — SCULPTURE, ETC. 



division, were much admired; and the British Provinces may well be 
proud of the figure they made in the assembly of nations. 

In the transept, and along the whole central avenue of the British 
division, statues and marble groups were plentifully scattered — inter- 
spersed with evergreens, and thrown out in bold relief against rich 
draperies of many colored silks and velvets. They added much to the 
general beauty of the interior. 

Thorneycroft's equestrian statue of the 
"Queen;" an ideal of "Ambition," by Ste- 
phens. John Bell's beautiful " Andromeda," 
and its exquisitely chased pedestal of bronze. 
"Adam," by E. I. Physick, (Apollo was the 
god of physick, sculpture, painting and mel- 
ody.) "Venus and Cupid," by E.Davis. The 
"Horse and Dragon," by Mr. AVyatt, Sen. 
Foley's " Ino and Bacchus ;" a " Nymph pre- 
paring for the bath," McDowell's statue of 
" Virginius having Slain his Daughter ;" an 
armed equestrian figure of " Coeur de Lion ;" 
"Michael and Satan," taken from Milton's 
g Paradise Lost, and a lovely statue of Ariadne, 
=; by William Boyton Kirk, were amongst the 
H most prominent contributions of the chisel. 
We notice Kirk because his style fore- 
^g^ shadows, to our thinking, a new and more 
IB: attractive school of sculpture. .His figures 
are not so highly finished in flesh and con- 
tour, as those of many other artists ; but the 
vivid and correct imagination of his designs, 
and the wild negligently graceful ease of 
all liis attitudes, possess a charm more powerful than the most elabo- 
rate carefulness can bestow. 

His statue of "Iris ascending," obtained the high distinction of a 
prize from the Royal Academy of England, when he was quite a youth ; 
and his afterworks have sustained and elevated his reputation. 

" Hesione chained to the rock," a classic of the purest order, Greek 





y.. 



VISIT OF THE QUE£:s aSD COUET. OC 

in beauty and simplicity, and a ; ' Pastoral Group," are amongst the 
latest and best pieces lie lias given to the world. 

We must hasten on however, for the day declines, and our visit to 
the British department is not yet completed. 

In the machinery rooms we had an array of all that mechanical art 
has planned and manufactured, to assist the feeble efforts of mere man- 
ual strength. Locomotives, steam ship engines, looms, printing 
presses — among others that of the Illustrated London News, which 
threw off its *■ Exhibition Supplement" within the very walls of the 
Crystal Palace — stamping machines, hydraulic engines, galvanic pro- 
pellers, electric batteries, &c, &c. ; in short all the lifeless army which 
. . izoMon has created and enrolled, wherewith to carry on the war 
against hunger, idleness and discord. 

In the department of manufactured goo is every thing that can 
be named was here found, scattered profusely along the almost endless 
counters — and if a census of the articles in the British division had 
been taken, but few objects, either of luxury or utility, would be 
missed from the muster roil. 

Abler pens than ours will yet expatiate on the xreat Industrial Ex- 
position with the voluminous accuracy so vast \ th sme requires. We 
have but taken a summer stroll through the fairy avenues ; they will 
plod the mighty labyrinth day by day with knitted brow, and earnest 
drudgery. To them, and to the historians of England, we leave 
the recapitulation of her triumphs. 

•• Last s :ene of all, that ends this strange eventful Jul ilee ! " On the 
11th of October, 1851, the Queen and Court of Britain again visited 
the Crystal Palace in state, and closed it formally. - he World's Fair, 
with all the varied and stupendous repertory of skill and science, art 
and labor, which, for six months previous, had created a thrill of min- 
gled wonder, pride, and admiration to the millions who approached 
with joyous and yet reverent hearts, the mighty temple of the twin 
sisters, Peace and Commerce, now closed its crystal gates to aJ 
those engaged in the dispersion of its treasures. 

The well-appointed equipages of the wealthy no more blocked up» 
its approaches — the humbler vehicles of the multitude ceased to 
deposit their living cargoes at its doors. 



66 INDIGNATION OF THE ENEMIES OF THE EXHIBITION. 

" Thus fades and perishes, grows dim, and dies 
All that the world is proud of!" 

The ring of hammers, the creaking of the strained cordage, used in 
hoisting out the heavy goods, the rumble of wagon-wheels, and the 
hoarse ejaculations of laboring men, succeeded the busy hum of plea- 
sure and astonishment which lately filled its vast extent. 

The original enemies of the " Exhibition" now vented their sup- 
pressed indignation against the harmless building which contained it. 
"Down with it ! down with it!" was screamed in the highest treble of 
aristocratic wrath. "Let no visible and palpable remains of it cum- 
ber the solid earth ; for it has inculcated doctrines dangerous, and sub- 
versive of order!" (the order of the bayonet and the jail!) " Dignity 
of labor," forsooth! "Who ever heard of such a thing?" "The 
common interest of all peoples, in contradistinction to that of royal or 
imperial masters !" " These it has taught, and a thousand other equally 
detestable absurdities, all aimed at our very existence. Down with it # 
Let us hear no more of it, nor see a vestige, as we roll around our once 
lovely Park, now contaminated by the hobnailed footprints of the 
million !" 

Such was the cry of the Goths and Vandals of the " upper ten." Their 
fury however proved impotent, and Paxton's original design, that the 
Palace should be converted into a winter garden for the people, will 
very likely be realized. 

This design of Mr. Paxton's further proves the earnest wish to bet- 
ter the condition, and refine the pleasures of the working class, which 
his whole life has manifested. At the commencement of the Exhi- 
bition, he strove earnestly to throw the Palace freely open to the pub- 
lic, and charge the expenses of its erection on the consolidated fund. 
But the government, which never scrupled, when the interests of 
tyranny were at stake, to add billions upon billions to the national 
debt of England, now turned most economical, and found that they 
could not burden the over-taxed citizens with the few thousands ne- 
cessary to carry out this liberal and truly beneficial scheme, although 
the citizens aforesaid would and did, undoubtedly, reap a profit of mil- 
lions from its execution. 

The glories of Babylon live only in tradition ; the mattock of the 



barnum's progressive mirror, etc. 67 

antiquarian delves up the departed splendors of Xineveh from the 
sand which centuries of time have spread above it. The winter ice 
palace of the Russian Empress thawed in the sun of spring; and the 
Crystal Palace likewise threatened to vanish before the hot indigna- 
tion of its foes. But even had it done so, " Our own immortal Bar- 
num" provided the best possible remedy for the disaster, in the shape 

of the GREAT PROGRESSIVE MIRROR OF THE CRYSTAL PALACE AND 

World's Fair, which reproduces every part and object of the "In- 
dustrial Exhibition of 1851," with a fidelity and beauty, which to be 
appreciated needs only to be seen. 

It is not our part to eulogise Mr. Barnum. The citizens of the 
United States well know and gratefully remember the benefits they 
have reaped from his dauntless enterprise, as a speculator, and his 
probity as a man and citizen. 

There are hundreds of artists, literary and scientific men, projectors, 
and men of business, known to us, all in comfortable, many in affluent 
circumstances, who thankfully acknowledge that they are indebted for 
all they now enjoy, to the thoughtful kindness and practical liberality 
of Mr. BarnunL 

The character of Paxton, sketched in a preceding chapter, applies 
with equal force to H The iSTapoleon of Showmen." Both are self- 
made, large-minded, generous and energetic men. The one originated 
the Crystal Palace, and completed it. The other, at a time when it 
was feared the magic structure would dissolve, 

And, like the baseless fabric of a vision 
Leave not a wreck behind, 

procured at a cost exceeding thirty thousand dollars, an exact 
representation — not of it only, but of all that it contained, and the 
west end of London, in which locality it was erected. 

This latter view embraces the loveliest and most interesting portion 
of the British metropolis. In it we have the new Houses of Parlia- 
ment — the time-honored Abbey of Westminster, where sleep the sagos, 
poets, orators and kings of England. Buckingham Palace, the winter 
residence of royalty. Apsley House, the princely dwelling of the 
Duke of Wellington. Hyde Park, St. James's Park, the Green Park, 
Constitution Hill, Piccadilly, Belgravia, and all the tropic region, illu- 
minated by the sun of fashion. 



68 TRIUMPH OF THE YACHT AMERICA. 

Signor De'Lamano, the accomplished artist of Broadway, New York, 
accompanied and assisted by the Signori Mechesi, Velluto, and Chcs- 
siti, of Rome, and the Messieurs De Lara, Bossuet and Lamartis, of 
Paris, visited the " Great Exhibition," under Mr. Barnum's directions, 
and at his expense, and took the various drawings of all around, with- 
out, and within, the World's Fair on the spot. 

Those who have visited the Crystal Palace itself, are loudest in their 
praises of its counterpart. Were it needed, extracts from the public 
press, in which, the language of eulogium seems exhausted, would 
abundantly prove the artistic fidelity, beauty and surpassing finish of 
the work. 

But our readers will not wonder if we prefer that they should visit the 
painting, and judge its merits for themselves. 

One incident of the year 1851, though it did not occur within the 
Crystal Palace, yet formed the most important feature of the " Great 
Exhibition." It is the triumph of the yacht America in the great 
naval tournament, which crowned the jubilee of commerce. 

Proud of her olden fame, and confident of success, Great Britain 
flung down the gage, and challenged all the world to rival her. Our 
matchless craft picked up the glove, and, on the 22d of August, 1851, 
took up her allotted station among the squadron of the Royal Yacht 
Club of England, assembled at Cowes, in the Isle of Wight. Queen 
Victoria, accompanied by Prince Albert and suite, attended — prepared, 
doubtless, to rejoice in a victory, which would extend the lease of 
England's fancied "supremacy of the main," for many } r ears to come. 

On this day the Royal Cup was to be won by England from all the 
world, or lost for the first time in her proud history. 

This year witnessed another foe never seen before such a race, and 
from some trials and reports circulated about the America's sailing 
qualities, it may be said, that when she unfurled her sails, as she now 
looms up on our engraving, "the boldest of old England there, held 
his breath for a time." Seventeen yachts entered the contest, but a 
hundred spread their sails together. It was a noble sight, such as has 
been seen in no other country. In a short space, the America 
every yacht in the squadron, and when it came to a place railed 
"the Needles," it was asked by the Queen, "Who is first?" The 
America, was the answer; " Who is the second ?" There is no second, 



OUR PLEASANT TASK NEARLY DONS. C9 

was the next reply. The America came in the winner of the Royal 
Cup, and the trophy of that victory is now in America — in pos- 
of the New York Yacht Club. When Commodore Stevens went 
away, he promised to the members of the club to bring back the Royal 
Cup, and nobly did he perform his promise. The America was visited 
by the Queen in person, as a mark of the estimation in which she held 
the citizens of the United States! 

In the contest many Americans were afraid that their yacht would 
not get fair play; and Commodore Stevens received many warnings 
about the pilot. 

The Admiral of the Portsmouth station, however, furnished him 
with a pilot, and said he would be personally responsible for him. 

Every thing was done fairly, kindly, con::: ::i above board — 

and in the words of Sir Henry Bulwer, we may say, u that if the 
United Statesmen showed how to win a race. Englishmen taught the 
world how to take a beating !" 

The yacht was designed 1 y Mr ; George F. Steers, :: New York 
iity : and carried the American patent self-regulating compasa It 
was built by Mr. Brown, and measured eighty-two feet on the keel, by 
ninety-four on deck ; the grc idth being twenty-two and a half 

: "?-:: : the registered burden being one hundred and seventy tons. 

With a noble view of the America as 

" She walks the waters like a thing of life." 
the heavy rigged, and timbered sloops and schooners of Britannia, toil- 
ing after in vain, closes the splendid historical representation of the 
l's "air. and this its crowning incident. 

Our pleasant task is nearly done — we have but lightly sketched the 
great industrial experiment — its lights and shadows, rather than its 
facts and details ; and we trust our labor is not thrown away. 

It is assuredly the duty of every educated person in the community 
to study the problems and characteristics of that age in which his lot is 
cast. To nnd out, if it be possible, the pivots on which the revolutions, 
moral, commercial and political are effected. Having mastered the 
circumstances of the p let him search the chronicles of the past, 

and gain instruction for the future from analysis, and the ana" 
- already known. 

Progress is the order of the day, and we must ride upon its foremost 



70 THE OXE GREAT FEATURE OF OUR ERA. 

billow, or be left like a stranded barque, to rot and crumble on the 
forsaken shore. 

" Earth has no mystery, and the air no spell, 
Which the unwasting soul may not compel." 

This is the creed of modern science, and every day furnishes additional, 
almost miraculous proof, of its absolute truth. 
We must press ever onward 

" For Emulation hath a thousand sons 
" That one by one pursue ; if we give way 
" Or swerve aside from the direct forthright , 
" Like to an entered tide, they all rush by 
" And leave us hindmost" 

The oxe great feature of our era is the "Great Exhibition of the 
industry of all nations." We may and will have similar displays in 
this country: but the type and essence of the thought will dwell with 
the original. 

Who can unravel the mystery? Who can point out the clue which 
will lead us from the great and palpable fact of its existence, to the 
hidden laboratory of the spirit which created it as a material emblem, 
and means of working out an end? — what is that end? — what will 
eventuate from the wondrous coalition of mankind ! — what influence 
will it exercise upon the arts and industry, the commerce and inter- 
national relationship of the world. 

These are questions beyond our province and ability to answer. 
They will suggest themselves to the thoughtful men of America; and 
if our hasty history should draw attention to the subject, or in any- 
wise contribute to the solution of the questions springing up from it, 
the writer's aim will be crowned with all, and more than all the suc- 
cess he first anticipated. 




M05T RESPECTFULLY SOLICIT THE PATROXAGE OF THE PUBLIC AT THEIR B00SI8, 

81 Washington-st,, near State-st,, Boston. 

ILLUSTRATIONS FOR BOOKS. ETCHINGS. LIKENESSES. LABELS, 

HEADS FOR LABELS. MAPS. PLANS. &c. &c, 

ACCURATELY ENGRAVED. 

t=^T* All orders, bv express or otherwise, promptly attended to. 

6 



THE AMOSKEAG MANUFACTURING Co. 

OF MANCHESTER, N. H., 

BY THEIR AGENTS, 

MERRIAM, BREWER & CO., 

03 C£> ^3 "O 1 C£> £3* & 

Contributed to the " Industrial Exhibition," at London, 

Sljcciings, drilling©, tickings fe €ottou Jflcmncls, 

FOR WHICH THEY RECEIVED THE PRIZE MEDAL. 



THE A.M. CO., 

IS ONE OF THE OLDEST ESTABLISHMENTS OF THE KIND IN 
THE COUNTRY. 

ITS CAPITAL, $3,000,000, 

Is larger than is employed in any similar corporation. With 62,000 
spindles, 1645 looms, and 2,500 operatives, it makes from No. 15 
yarn, twenty millions yards of the following fabrics : — TICKINGS, 
SHEETINGS, DRILLINGS, COTTON FLANNELS, DENIMS, 
STRIPED SHIRTINGS, AND DRILLINGS, CORSET JEANS, 
AND MARINERS' STRIPES, of various widths and grades. 

The fabrics above named, are too well known to require an ex- 
tended account of their uses. 



AMOSKEAG MANUFACTURING COMPANY, 

Manufacture Tickings, Sheetings, Drillings, Cotton Flannels, Demins, 
Striped Shirtings, and Drillings, Corset Jeans, and Mariners' Stripes, 
of various widths and grades. To several of these fabrics, was 
awarded the Prize Medal of the Industrial Exhibition, at London. 

For sale at 34 Pine Street, New York ; 25 Federal Street, Boston, by 



Mo C O R M I C K'S 

CELEBRATE! 



GRAIFREAPER AND GRASS-CUTTER, 

TO WHICH WAS AWARDED, BY THE GREAT EXHIBITION 
F ALL NATIONS, A EAT MEDAL. 



This world-renowned machine is manufactured by its inventor, Mr. C. H McCormick, of 
Chicago, Illinois. 

have been 5,000 of them, or more, sold ; more than four-fifths of them from the 
Chicago manufactory, and all within a very few years, — though it was first 
and patented in 1334 — and patented, afterwards, (for imprrver^- - K in fhe years 

of 1845 and 1847 — such has been the time required to perfect the machine, in fact, in conse- 
quence of the short time in each - ai : i mailing and testing experiments i making required 
improvements from rime to time. But, for a few years past, the demand for the Reaper has 
been steadily increasing, until it has become very considerable, and which is always the best 
evidence of the merits and value of such an improvement. And, as is perhaps the case with 
all really valuable improvente:.- : - :- great value has become more known and established, 
piracies upon it have been increased- A noted instance of this is found in the case :: Sey- 
mour «t Morgan." of the western part of Yew York. who. after having ma I i several 

- : ssre yeais for the Patentee, manufactured a considerable mm i tl - : :wn hook, with 

bat : irable evasions of the patents, and against whom a verdict of -flT.S 06 was rendered by 
a Yew York jury, in favor of the Patentee, in October last, i< jt the infringement I :Ler man- 
ufacturing concerns in the West have been prosecuted for similar inft Dgeme its bat which 
will probably be admonished, by the result of the Yew York case, to desist — as will probably 
i the farmers of the country, not to purchase the spurious article, when they are as liable for 
using, as are the manufacturers for making and selling them. 

As a complete c nnrmation of the justice of the decision of the Com nittees : the Great 
Exhibition of all Yations, in awarding the oreat medal t . - Reaper, the following 

Societies have during the last fall awarded their first premiums to the same, viz : The State 

- .: I 1 ~ V . '.: I -tehigan and Wisconsin, and the PhiL Fra-": 
Chicago Mechanic.?' Institutes — the laif total, tbr the best Grain Reaper and Grass 

Cutter, tested by a coat fcteei g ••;•?. in competition with tw: ''.-..- 

The most important difference between MCormick's and Hussey's Reapers are the following : 
In _ : Y'Cormick's has a sickle or serrated edge — Hussey's a smooth one. which 

is of c<mr.-e more liable to become dull, and ithem to become clogged, especially in cutting 
damp grain. MCormick's has " a reel * for gathering the grain to the machine, and laying it 
_ i the - • <. and for icant of which it is often necessary to drive Hussey's very fart 
— sometimes at a trot of the horses — to enable the attender. with a raise, to gather the grain 
on the platform : and this greater speed is oppressive on man, horses, and machine — which 
has been spoken of by the inexperit-:. B s -.. aoly as not injuring the cutting — not know- 
ing that it With the reel, too, the grain is deposits I at tl machine, 
thereby en;t:/:r. * its operators to cut down a vh le tt--'. ':. more or less.) without wait: ng : 
regard to the binding ; whereas, without it. as with H is - - the grain is deposited behind the 
machine, making it nc :--- re it bonnd np 
time. This alone is an insuperable objection to Hussey's machine. 

The pric this jR - . " ash, on delivery at the manufactory (at Chk 2 

tlie city I R Fork $30 on delivery, and $90, with interest, on the 1 -- :' S 

thereafter. Warranted to give full satisfaction in all respects, as well as to cut 1* to 1 
_ in per hour. 

The a:". f fhe Reaper, with another sickle, and all necessary extras, to m "■: 

complete '-ine. warranted, as is the Reap-er. : - _ \ naL 

The demand this year for this machine, promising to be much greater than in any 
year, it may be necessary to order early to secure a Reaper. 



NEW YORK AGRICULTURAL WAREHOUSE, 

A. B. ALLEN & CO., 
189 & 191 Water Street, New York. 

Implements kept here embrace upwards of ONE HUNDRED DIFFERENT 
KINDS OF PLOWS, a great variety of Harrows, Cultivators, Rollers, Seed Sowers, 
Horse Powers, Grain Cradles, Threshing and Fanning Machines, Mills, Hay Cotters, 
Corn Shellers, Shovels, Spades, Hoes, Scythes, Rakes, Wagons, Wheels, Carta, 
Wheelbarrows, Pumps, Rice Threshers, and Hullers, Road Scrapers. Axes, Chains, 
&c, &c. These implements are mostly made up from new and highly-improved 
patterns, and are warranted to be of the best materials, and put together in the strong- 
est manner and of a superior finish. 

Horticultural Tools — A complete assortment. 

Castings, Skeleton Plows, Harrow Teeth and Iron Work of all kinds done to 
order in the cheapest and best manner. 

Steam Engines, Sugar Boilers, Sugar Mills, Saw Mills, Kettles, Cauldrons, &c, 
for Plantations. 

Horse Powders, of various kinds, Wood and Iron. 

Brick Machines of the best construction which will- make 10,000 to 15,000 brick 
per day, by hand. 

Reaping and Mowing Machines. — McCormick's, Hussey's, and other improved 
kinds. 

Wagons, Carts, Wheel and Canal Barrows. 

Presses, operated by hand, for Hay, Cotton, Wool, Oil, Tobacco, &c. 

Wire Cloth and Sieves. — Different kinds and sizes, kept constantly on hand. 

Field and Garden Seeds. 

Such as Improved Winter and Spring Wheat, Rye, Barley, Oats, Corn, Beans, Peas, 
Turnips, Cabbage, Beet, Carrot, Parsnip — Clover and Grass Seeds, &c. These are 
warranted fresh and superior of their kind. 

Fertilizers. 

Peruvian Guano, Lime, Plaster of Paris, Bone Dust, Poudrette, &c. 

Fruit and Ornamental Trees and Shrubs. 

Orders taken for these, and executed from a choice of the best Nurseries, Gardens, and 
Conservatories in the United States. 

Horses, Cattle, Sheep, and Swine. 

Orders received for stock of all kinds, to be executed to the best advantage, and 
shipped in the most careful manner. 

Machine Shop and Foundry. 

Connected with our Warehouse, we have a large Machine Shop, with Steam Power, 
and a Foundry, where any Implement and Machine required for the Farm. Plantation, 
&c, can be made to order. 

A Catalogue of the above Implements, Seeds, &c, of over one hundred pages, 
handsomely illustrated with plates, will be forwarded by mail, when requin 
paid, and four stamps are enclosed for postage of the catalogue, which is required 
by law to be pre-paid. 

Persons writing us upon their own business, will please enclose a stamp to pay post- 
age of the answer. 

A. B. ALLEN k Co., 189 k 191, Water St., N. Y. 



££a * -SX2 o O "^5* L^ ^ a 

PREMIUM DAGUERREAN GALLERY, 

142 WASHINGTON STREET, BOSTON. 

The Pictures taken at this Establishment, are pronounced by competent judges, second to 
none in the world. 

Citizens and strangers are respectfully invited to examine specimens and judge for 
themselves. 

Satisfaction guaranteed in ail cases. 



Patent Paged and Headed Ancient Books, 

Manufactured and Sold by the Patentees, Wholesale and Eetail, with- 
out additional charge for Paging. Also constantly on hand, 
large assortment of Stationery, &c., &c. 

J. k W. M<- ADAMS, 

9 4: STATE ST BEET, BOSTON, MASS. 

TO THE TRADE. 

Dealers in Account Books will find it to their advantage to consider the simplicity and sub- 
stantial benefit of the MESSRS. McADAMS' Patent Machines for Paging, Heading, and Fin- 
ishing off Account Books. Two pages are numbered appropriately at each operation ; and 
thus 30,000 sheets can be regularly lettered -within the hour. A Pestjftes is a small, cheap 
and ingenious contrivance, made by the same firm, -which no ruler who values his time and 
eyesight, should be without having. 



MR. W. E, DUNLOP, 

<tl)e Cekbratefj penman of tljc Crystal J3ala«, 
AND TEACHER OF BOOK-KEEPING, 

Who has ranked at the head of hi3 profession in Xew Orleans for many years, will remove 
to New York, during the ensuing summer, with the intention of making that city his per- 
manent residence. The following extract from the Lohdon Art Joubxal of ^September 
1851, speaks for itself, and needs no further eulogy : 

■ In the American Department of the Great Exhibition is a specimen of cah'graphy. by 
Mr. W. A. DTTXLOP, a native of Belfast now settled in Xew Orleans, the labor devoted to 
the execution of which cannot be conceived without minute inspection. It is an invoice of 
cotton containing nearly 25,000 figures in the space of six inches square, the bill of lad- 
ing in the size of a shilling, the charter party, policy of insurance, bills of exchu _ 
and iUustrated with vignettes, in imitation of steel engraving. The entire work was ex- 
executed with a goose quill pen, and is all visible to the unassisted eye." 

Xeic Orleans, Jan., 1852. 



LAWRENCE'S DAGUERREOTYPES. 

Tlie First Premium, a Prize Medal was awarded to M M. Lawrev< i:. at die Kxiiibition 
of the I.vihstrv ok all Nations, at the Crystal Palace in London, for the best Daguerreo- 
types. 

The proprietor having built bis rooms expressly for taking Daguerreotypes, with a view to 
obviate many of the difficulties that surround the Daguerrean Artist, has found, after ■ fair 
trial, that his expectations have been fully realized. The arrangement of light waa new ; and 
is no doubt superior to all other?, for producing uniformly soft and bold pictures, and lias been 
; e 1 by many eminent Artists, a 31o<l<l Light It produces, what, artists -ay thej have 

long looked for in Daguerreotypes; "The middle, or neutral tints, giving to the pictures a 
very soft and beautiful effect." 

One of the rooms is arranged with particular reference to taking Family, and other large- 
groups. Fifty persons can be taken with great facility. 

The rooms are large, and the Reception Room is furnished in a very elegant manner. 

The Operating Department is conducted by persons of great experience and skill. The 
proprietor has the supervision of the Finishing Department, and will take care that none but 
good pictures are sent out. 

Formerly all attempts to take Daguerreotypes of a large size have been quite un-ati-factory, 
on account of the coarse and distorted appearance of the picture. This difficulty has been 
obviated by increasing the size of the Camera. The proprietor has the largest Camera ever 
made, and can produce pictures nearly the size of Life, on Plates the size of Portrait-, with 
all the softness and delicacy of the finest miniature. 

There can be seen at the rooms, likenesses of many distinguished persons, among them, 
more than one hundred clergymen. 

Daguerreotypes, Paintings, Engravings, <£c, copied, and if required, enlarged to any size. 
Views, Landscapes, and Monuments, taken in the most perfect manner. 

Stormy or Cloud v weather no detriment to taking Good Pictures. Children taken of all ages. 

The Public are invited to visit the Gallery, which is free to all. M. M. LA WREN 

203 Broadway, three doors below Fulton Street, HP. Y. 

CORNELIUS, BAKER &, CO., 

MANUFACTURERS OF 

ILAEffllP© /AW© ©£\g ^OXTOKLl^ 

PHILADELPHIA, PA. 
H. Y. & L. B. HOTCHK1SS, 

PEPPERMINT OIE DEPOT, 

LOCATED AT LYONS, WAYNE COUNTY, STATE OF NEW YORK,. 

WHERE ALL ORDERS MCST BE ADDI. 

This brand of Peppermint Oil was awarded with a prize medal premium at the preat 
World's Fair, London; also, with the first premium at the New York State Agricultural 
Society, at Rochester, 1851. 

The pure, selected, and bright Peppermint Oil is put up in case*, containing 24 bottles. 
Each bottle contains lib. 5oz. nett, and each case SlAlbs. 

The pure, double-refined, colorless, and fine high flavored Peppermint Oil, for Confectioners, 
is put up in cases containing 12 flint bottles. Each bottle contains 1 lb. nett, and each case 
1 2lb-. X.B. No charge for bottles or packaged. 
Sold, wholesale and retail, at the principal Druggists and Dealers, in 
\e\v York, Philadelphia, and Uostou. 



Prize Medal at the World's Fair. 



CURED BY 

SCHOOLEY & HOUGH, 
CINCINNATI, O. 



These celebrated Hams received theROYAL COMMISSIONERS 1 PRIZE MEDAL at 
the great Industrial Exhibition of all Xations. held in London, England. 1851. Thev came 
into competition with the curing of both Europe and America, and were served up for, aud 
partaken of by. the members of the Juries, by the Hon. ABBOT LAWRENCE. Minister 
from the United States to the Court of St. James, by his Royal Highness PRLNCE 
ALBERT, and VICTORIA, Queen of England: and were pronounced by the honorable 
Judges equal if not superior, to any of the medalists on exhibition. The process used in 
curing these superior Hams is something similar to the curing of the far-famed " Westphalia.'" 
and has been improved upon and so far perfected by Me. JOHX C. SCHOOLEY. the senior 
member of the firm, who in all cases superintends the practical p>art in person. 

Messks. Schoolet and Hough devote themselves exclusively to the curing of Hams 
expressly for fa m ily use : and in doing so, they use the greatest care, so as to have each Ham 
uniform and palatable ; and to convince the public of the reputation of the " Queen Citv" 
Hams at home, we have only to state that they have been presented for competition at the 
different exhibitions, alongside of other celebrated brands, and in all cases have received the 
FIRST PREMIUM, viz.: 

Oliio State Agricultural Fair, 1§50. 
Oliio I!lecliaiiics ? Institute, 1S50. 

I>o. I>o. Do. 1851. 

Setting aside all of the above Credentials, we only ask the Public to test our curing, to 
be convinced of its superiority. Always keeping in view that our success depends entirely 
on the quality of our article, we sincerely hope we may continue to please all who 
patronise us. 

All orders forwarded to us at Cincinnati will be attended to without delay. 

SCHOOLEY & ROUGH, 

Jantary 24th, 1552. • Cincinnati. Ohio. 



WILLIAM P. TEXXY & CO. 

<Dl njeru variety of -fabric onti (Duality, 
HALL OVEB MAINE RAILROAD DEPOT, 

HAY MARKET SQUARE, BOSTON. 

W* P. Tknht, I ( Edward Kimball. 

J. Arc. Felt, ] ( F. B. "Wextworth. 



PALMER'S PATENT LEG 

376 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia; 
§ Burt's Building, Springfield, .Mass.; 
30 Regent's Street, London, England. 



This life-like substitute — the invention of F. B. Palmer, once of New Hampshire. 
possesses all the most important recent improvements, and will be found the best sub- 
stitute for the natural limb, by those who are unfortunately maimed. This Limb can 
be obtained only at the manufactories above named, at all of which the same quality 
of article is given, at one fixed price. The manufacture is conducted in Springfield by 
B. F. Palmer, A. S, Currier, and E. I). Hudson, M. D., under the firm of B. F. 
Palmer 6f Co. All applications by persons residing either in New England, or the 
State of New York, should be addressed here ; as all limbs ordered by residents in 
any other portion of the United States, or foreign countries — except Great Britain and 
Ireland — will be manufactured by the inventor in Philadelphia. 

Palmer's Patent Leg received the prize medal at the Great Exhibition of 1851, as em- 
phatically " the best patent artificial Limb known ;" and the Royal College of Si 
assembled at a professional conversazione — all the highest medical authorities of Eng- 
land being present — declared hv acclamation that " it was the most important invention 
kver presented for the relief of suffering- humanity." Mr. Palmer had been specially 
invited to this meeting, lie was also invited to Paris by the Academy of Medicine, 
and the most profound Anatomists of the French School, declared his invention " far 
superior to any false limbs made in Paris.'' 

Palmer's Patent Leg is, also, recommended as the best, by the principal Surgeons 
in America, among whom we may mention Prof. W. Parker and Prof. V. Mou. of 
New York ; Prof. Thomas D. Mutter, and Prof. W. Gibson, of Philadelphia ; Drs. 
Warren and Townsend, Boston. This Limb has also received the award of the most 
honorary premiums by all the distinguished Scientific Societies of the United St ilea, 
as twenty Gobi and Silver Medals, or u frst premiums" testify. And last, in order, 
but fir t in importance, we may state that this invention is daily enabling fire hundred 
mutinied individuals to vsalk erect as their fellow mortals, and conceal the nature of 
their misfortune, as they engage in active and useful occupations. Pamphlets con- 
taining full particulars sent free. Address according to the above instructions, post- 
paid. 

PALMER & CO. 



STIMPSON'S 

CRYSTAL FOUNTAIN AND IONIC GOLD PENS, 

WITH GOLD AND SILVER PROTECTION HOLDERS. 



These Pexs and Holders hare not only received frequent com- 
mendations of the press, bankers, merchants, their clerks, and other 
professional men, but have lately received the silver wedal from the 

MIDDLESEX MECHANIC ASSOCIATION, 

at their first Fair, held in Lowell, and are believed to be the best Gold 
Pens and Holders in use. The peculiarity of the 



mm© ©@l© \pm&^ 

consists in their extra elasticity, No. 1 resembling the quill pen, No. 
2 the steel pen. 

THE FOUNTAIN PEN 

is celebrated for its holding a quantity of ink, when once filled, suffi- 
cient to write a common letter. 

THE HOLDER 

is so constructed as to afford entire protection to the pen, without the 
trouble of reversing it. These pens should be used with the utmost 
care, kept clean by means of a wet sponge. Use thin ink ; never put 
the pen away without cleansing it. 

For sale wholesale and retail, at Messrs. OAKY & DAELING-'S, 
No. 20 State street, and Messrs. CROSBY & BKO \YN"S. No. 69 
Washington street, Boston. 



BAKER & SMITH, 

R0©f2^W£I^g ©M W©©& 9 
LIBERTY TREE BLOCK, 

COR. WASHINGTON AND ESSEX-STS. 
Boston. 

For specimen of engraving, see likeness of D. Eldon- Hall, on 
first page. 

WM. J. BAKER D. T. SMITH. 



GENIN, HATTER, 

214 BROADWAY. 



Genin invites the attention of gentlemen to his universally ad- 
mired 

FOUR DOLLAR HATS, 

superior in style and all the qualities which belong to a first rate and 
fashionable fabric. 

FANCY HATS AND CAPS FOR CHILDREN, 

of the newest Paris patterns, and a variety of superb original designs, 
prepared under his own eye, and made in his own factory. 

and Ladies' Eiding Whips and Gauntlettes. 

GENTLEMEN'S AND BOYS' CAPS 

of every variety of pattern and fabric. 

CHOICE PARISIAN AND AMERICAN UMBRELLAS, 

Walking Canes, Brushes, Travelling Bags, and other articles 
generally in a fashionable Hat Store. 

A choice variety of Furs and Straw Goods in their season. 

GENIX, 214 Broadway. 

Opposite St. Paul's. 



The Unmedaled Machine Triumphant 



SUPERIORITY OF 

EUSSIY'S REAPING! & MO WIS 2 MACHETE. 



From the London Times, of August oth, 1851. 

- A tnal ha3 taken place before the Cleveland Agricultural Society of the respective 
merits of MeCormick's and Husseys American Reaping Machines ; and the report of the 
Jury of practical men, appointed by the consent of both parties to decide the question of 
merit, is favorable to the latter implement This decision throws considerable doubt upon 
the justice of the award of the great medal at the Exhibition to McCormickT 

From the Durham Advertiser, of August 10th, 1851. 

'• The Jury appointed at the meeting to decide upon the respective merits of McCormick 
and Hussey's Reapers, have given their award in favor of Mr. Husseys invention. This 
decision is entirely in accordance 'with the opinions expressed by our correspondents on the 
subject. "We have, therefore, little doubt that, after the result of such a contest becomes 
fully known, Mr. Hussey's Machine will be introduced into every district in the kingdom." 

It is worthy of remark that the Foreman of this Jury was one of the Great Exhibition 
Jury which awarded the medal prematurely. This gentleman, in a speech before the 
Cleveland Society, said "he was now thoroughly convinced of the great merit of Mr 
Husseys Machine, and would do all in his power to get a medal for it. 75 

These Machines will continue to be manufactured by the subscriber, in Baltimore, Md., 
as usuaL 

obed mrssEY. 



HEW YORK STATE— PREMIUM 



The KTLX-DRIED CORX-MEAL, manufactured for exportation by Messrs. PRESCOTT 
cfc HOTCHKISS, of Phelps, Ontario County, X. Y, was exliibited successfully at the - Great 
Exhibition of 1851.'' It also received a premium from the Xew York State .Agricultural 
Society, at Syracuse, in 1849. 

Cg^"" All orders for this excellent article, addressed to Messrs. Pbescott £ Hotcheiss, of 
Phelps. Ontario County, Xew York State, will receive prompt attention. 



PUBLISHED MONTHLY. 

The best and funniest Magazine in the world is acknowledged, by the whole* Press 
of the United States, to be the celebrated 

YANKEE NOTIONS, 

OR WHITTLINGS OF JONATHAN'S JACK-KNIFE, 

Containing 32 large pages of the choicest Reading Matter, 



COMPRISING 



THE BEST TALES, THE BEST SKETCHES, THE BEST 

POETRY, AND THE MOST LAUGHABLE JOKES 

EVER PRODUCED BY HUMAN WIT. 

This excellent work is illustrated by the large number of 

SEVENTY-FIVE ENGRAVINGS PER MONTH, 

of the most humorous designs, by the most celebrated artists in Europe and America, 
including the world-renowned Cruikshank, and the designers for the London Punch, 
and the price of this unrivalled, matchless Magazine, is only twelve and a half cents 
per number, or SI. 50 per year, in advance. 

The Proprietor of " Yankee Notions" presents his Magazine to the public with the 
confidence of a host, who invites his friends to partake of the greatest varieties of the 
season, prepared with unapproachable skill by the very best of cooks. He is satisfied 
that neither in this country nor in Europe, has such a work ever before been attempted. 
It abounds with subjects of amusement and interest for all readers, all ages, and all 
classes. Tales for the sentimental and the jocose, for children around the stove on 
winter nights, and for lovers beneath the shade of trees on summer evenings, profusely 
illustrated with engravings — three or four in every page — are the most considerable 
features of this extraordinary publication. To these must be added the most laughable 
poems, and the richest and raciest anecdotes and jokes, forming a fund of innocent 
merriment for the current month, and at the end of the year a matchless volume, inex- 
haustible in interest, of four hundred pages and 

ONE THOUSAND ENGRAVINGS, 

with a MAGNIFICENT FRONTISPIECE, unrivalled as a work of art. 

Only twelve and a half cents per monthly number. Subscription, SI. 50 per annum, 
or ten copies sent to one address for S10. 
News Agents, look out for it ! Address, 

Office of " YANKEE NOTIONS," 

98 Nassau-street, New York. 



PROSPECTUS OF 

THE P L O W, 

A MONTHLY CHRONICLE 01 RURAL AFFAIRS. 

[SUCCESSOR TO THE AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST.] 

FIFTY CENTS A YEAB ! ! 

The Cheapest Agricultural Periodical in Ameriea. 

u He who by the Plow would thrive. 
Must either hold himself or drive." 

VOL. I. NEW YORK. JANUARY. 1852. No. 1. 

SOLON ROBINSON, EDITOR. 

C. BE. SAXTO.V. 152 Fulton Street. 



T E R IB §: 

£3f" Each number of The Plow -will contain thirty-two pages, imperial octavo, in double 
columns, the same size, and printed in the same clear and beautiful type as the American 

AgBJCTTLTCEIST. 

IT WILL BE PUBLISHED 0^ 

THE FIRST OF EVERY MONTH, 

152 FTJXTON STREET. NEW YORK, 

IT TIFTY CEXTS A TEAR FOR A SINGLE COPT. 

Five Copies, for Two Dollars 

fcg" Subscriptions commence with the year. No paper sent except paid for in advance. 



AGEXTS. 

Postmasters, Editors, and all friends of improvement in Agriculture, and particularly the 
personal friends cf the Editor, Publisher, and A B. Allen <fc Co., will please act as Agents, for 
which thev will be allowed all over 374- cents per copv as commission. Remit by mail at the 
risk of the publisher. Direct to C. M. SAXTOX 152* Fulton Street New York, and prepay 
vour pot: 

The Editor's Office is at the Xeic York Agricultural Warehouse of A. B. ALLE>" 
<fc CO.. 189 and 191 Water Street, up stairs, where he will always be happy to see his friends 
from couiitrv or city. Office hours, 12 to 3 o'clock, P. M. 

|^° A. B. ALLEN and R. L. ALLEN, late Editors of the Ameeicax Ageiccxttejst. will 
be regular contributors to The Plow. Also, Professor Norton, Dr. Antisell, L. F. Allen, and 
others, late Correspondents of the Agriculturist. 

POSTAGE. 

The Editor and Publisher will make it a point of courtesy to pay postage on all lettera 
all sent to them should therefore invariably be prepaid. 

The postage of The Plow, according to the late act of Congress, is as follows : — Any distance 
within 50 miles of the city of New York. 1£ cents per quarter : over 50 miles and less than 
300 miles, 2i cents per quarter : over 300 miles and less than 1000 miles. 3£ cents per quar- 
ter: over 1000 miles and less than 2000 mile?. 5 cents per quarter: over 2000 miles and le*j 
than 4000 miles, 64- cents per quarter : over 4000 miles, 1i cents per quarter. 

Under the cheap postage law. a single subscriber can remit a half dollar for The Plow. 




LEONARD SMITH'S 

LAST IMPROVED 

SMUT MAC IIIXK, 

I ".Mi Mi b February \2lh, 1850. 

The Patentee La? been in the Smui Machine ■ 
for the la-t eleven year-, and is weD acquainted with all 
other Smut Machines in the U. S. and Canada, and from 
his long experience in the bu~in.--~. a> well as being a 
practical miller of fourteen years experience, he is 
enabled to furnish the best Smut and Scouring machine 
now in use. 

"WARRANTEE. — The machine will be sent to order, 
( and warranted to excel all others now in use, in taking 
out smut and chaff, and scouring the fibres from one 
end of the berry and the germ from the other, and a 
trial of three months will be given from the day of ship- 
ment at Troy, N. Y. ; and if the same does not operate 
as warranted, the machine will be taken back and no 
charge made for the use of the same, provided the same 
is put up and run according to directions and not injured 
or broken, and returned within three months from the date of shipment to Troy. 
The subscriber has also a Buckwheat Scourer, which is highly appreciated. 

LEONARD SMITH, Fatentee, 

No. 313 River-street. Troy, N. Y. 
Tin following is a List of Premiums 
Awarded. 

My first machine has been in use 1 1 
years, and took 7 first Premiums out of 
eight exhibitions. 

My last machine, first exhibited at 
the State Fair, Syracuse, Sept. 1 5, 1 - 19, 
before Letters Patent were granted, 
took the first Premium, a medal Pre- 
sent, Springer's, and Clark A Wilson's. 

First Premium at the Michigan State 
Fair, Detroit, Sept. 1840. First Pre- 
mium at the Maryland State Fair. First 
Premium at the Fair of the American 
Institute, Castle Garden, in October, 
1840— a Colo Medal for the Wheat 
and Rye Sinutter, and a Silver Medal 
for the best Buckwheat Scourer. rVe- 
sent for competition, Springer's and Har- 
ris' Stone Machine, and others. At the State Fair at Albany. 1850, a large Medal f<>r the 
best Smut Machine, and a Diploma for the best Buckwheat Scourer, present Harris' Stone 
Smutter and Scourer, and Buel <fc Brown's Smutter. Also at Rochester, Sept 1861, received 
Hie first Premium over Harris' Stone Smutter, Grimes' and others present 

TROT, October, 14th 1851. 
At the request of Leonard Smith, I freely give my views relative to hi- Smut Machine, for 
the benefit of all concerned. 

I have been in the Milling business for forty years, and have had charge of two Mills, of four 
run of stone each, 37 years. I have had one of Smith's Machines in one Mill for 11 y< 
the cost of only $7,00 for a new case, and in the other .Mill for ."> years without any i 

This spring I put one of his new Patent Machines in place of the one 1 had 11 \ 
find it to be all a person could desire a Smut Machine to be. I believe thi^ Machine i- used 
in all the Flouring Mills in Troy and vicinity, and it is liked by them all. We have started 
several Machines on trial Bince we have been using Smith's, ana have round none equal to it 
Having examined the "stone Rubbers,** I should think them ca-\ to gel out of bf 
they require a good deal of dressing, while Smith's Machines requiring only common care as 
they are got up and fixed in a proper manner. JAC< >B DANKER. 



, 










B — i. 


as 

3 g 

. = 
- '5 
Zo 


o 


o 

£ 5 


1 

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o 
JS 

J 


is .. 

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•7. 


'1 s. 

"3 x: 


g £ O 
-= — - — 
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— - •_ 


1 ^80 00 


15 


11 


$4 50 11 


3 


100.000 


2 95 00 


25 15 


5 00 11 


4 


125,000 


3 110 00 


35 19 


5 50 12 


44 


1 50,000 


4 125 00 45 23 


6 00 12 


5 


175,000 


5 140 00 60 28 


6 50 14 


6 


200,000 


6 155 00 80 32 


7 00 14 


7 


225,000 


7 170 00 100 36 


7 50 16 


8 


250,000 


8 185 00! 125 42 


8 00 16 


9 275,000 


9 200 00 150 46 9 50 16 


10 1 800,000 


Buckwheat Scourer No. 1. $50: 


No. 2. $65. 



OPINIONS OF THE PRESS 

- BUXEVH TO THE GREAT 

HISTORICAL PROGRESSIVE MIRROR 

OF THE 

CRYSTAL PALACE AND WORLD'S FAIR. 



(Ftm* the London Times, Aug.. Hoi. 
The ■■ Imuortal Barntm " is one of the Institutions of America : nothing seems too light or too heavy 
for his grasp — whether it be from Tom Thumb to the Great World's Fair itself. We find that the genius of 
B-rnum has been for some time at work to furnish the good citizens of the Western Continent with a fac- 
simile of the Crystal Palace. He has. it will be seen, engaged artists of celebrity, headed by the illustrious 
Signer De L-.mano of Broadway. Xew York, who have taken sketches of the marvellous building and all it 
contained here, which are elaborated by other artists in Xew York : and the whole, when completed, will 
f.rm a Panorama of more than three miles in length '. This is a bold, and if it be well done, as we have no 
doubt it will be, cannot fail to prove a most attractive speculation. 

(From the .Vex Tori Tribune, Dec. L 1851.) 

Moving PirrrRE of the World's Fair. — Through the politeness, last Saturday, of Mr. P. T. Barnum. we 
had au opportunity of witnessing this enormous and elegant panoramic painting, and we have no reason to 
envy now those fortunate feilow"-citizens who have visited this wonder of the 19:h centurv. We could not 
have been more gratified had we walked the Crystal Palace itself, for here is a strikicg likene-s of its every 
part, taken down, on the spot, by able artists, sent there with that view, and we can sit comfortably in one 
place and gaze on all its passing wonders. Here is the whole Transept : here is the Xave : here is the Grand 
Opening: here is every department ar.d every otject of interest placed before our eyes, besides a vieiriii 
London and of the yacht race of the America, at Cowes. Truly it is a beautiful idea beautifully executed. 
Mr. Hall i* the able and agreeable illustrator of the picture, which will be exhibited publicly,' to-day, at 
Sioppani Hall. 

r tie Jfem York Sun, De< 

Moving Picttre of the World's Fair. — We had heard Mr. Bamum. whom nothing seems to daunt, had 
sent artists to Lojidor. to catch a living likeness of tbe Crystal Palace, both inside and out, and we noticed, 
some time ago. in an English paper, a warm account of the enterprise. But, last Saturday evening, we had 
ttie pleasnre or" witnessing the panorama itself which is now finished, and will be open for" exhibition to-day. 
at Stoppnni Hall. It has cost, they say. upward of $30,000. but we shall be much mistaken if it do not prove 
the most popular thing of the kind yet placed before the public. It embodies the whole of the W - "sF 
and all its contents, from the highest article to the least, the American goods not excepted. Some of the 
views :.re especially admirable, and the whole are extremely irtere-r.Lg. Mr. Hill. w\ 
pictnre. is remarkably easy, fluent, and agreeable, and adds much to the general attraction. The yacht 
America, in her famous race, foruis part of the pxture — an imposing addition. 

(From the S> m eic York Dispiteh. Dee„ 18513 
Moving PicrrRE of the World's Fair. — We need not trouble ourselves to ask questions now of travel- 
ler* who have visiied the Crystal Palace, and seen all its glory. Mr. B:imum. whose enterprise seems to 
recogr.izp no limit, sent a corps of artists over t) London, who. on the spot, prepared all the m- - -- 

birty thousand dollars, a faithful, panoramic picture of the whole 
scene. :iisid<> and ■ at, for the American public. The picture will be thrown open to the pa 
Stoppani Hail, and list evening a •• private view " was arTorded to the press and some p ersona l friend's, in 
wh^ch we had the pleasure of psirtieip itiog. Certainly we were charmed with the painting. It snrrris*ed in 
interest all we could have ini--.gir.ed. The Greed Opening i~ a glorious thirg. The after Tiew M all the 
rticles, of all the American goods, of all the Briti-b. display, is truly penVcL The bird's-eye view of 
1 is also exqiiisiip. ^nd the yacht race of the America wind' up the" whole. Mr. Ball, who 

Lis h-.ppy description. 



OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 

(From the AVie York Christian Intelligencer.) 

The Crystal Palacu. — We have sometimes, in common with many others, regretted daring the past 
rammer that we were compelled to exercise our organ of inhabitiveness, and remain |>ent tip in tins river- 
bound little island, and never be permitted to see the great wonder of the age— the Crystal Palace. < mr 
regrets were in a great measure dissipated on Saturday evening last, on finding that the indefatigable Mr. 
Barnum had, to all appearance, transported across the wide Atlantic this monster wonder, and was ready to 
expose it to our admiring eyes. 

We need hardly despair of seeing anything worth seeing, as long as this universal caterer for the public 
amusement is among us. This painting is by far the the greatest we have ever seen. The special.. r* MH 
very numerous, now looking in breathless admiration, and now giving vent to their delight in deafening 
applause. 

Never have we seen anything in the shape of a picture that looks so much like a reality. Yon are first 
presented with a view of the great park in which the palace stands, and then with a most splendid perspec- 
tive view of the noble structure itself. Noble indeed it seems to be. and itself the greatest curiosity that was 
to be seen at the "Great Exposition." After surveying the noble exterior, you are introduced into the interior, 
and there you see Her Majesty standing under a most gorgeous canopy, while her royal spouse, a little in 
advance, is in the attitude of reading a speech at the great opening. The picture then moves slowly onward, 
Mr. Hall delineating the various objects as they pass. Ever and anon a splendid piano forte di-courses the 
sweetest music we ever heard from string or pipe. As the departments of the sever il nations appear, this 
instrument, touched by no ordinary hand, peals aloud the chief national airs and anthems of each respectively, 
until the ear and the eye are both alike charmed. 

On the vast moral influence of this great exhibition we could say much, but time and spare forbid at 
present In the meantime we advise all who can, to give one evening to this wonderful picture, and we are 
sure they will confess the half has not been told them of the original. 

(From the .Veto York Herald. Dec, 1851.) 
Historical Painting of the Crystal Palack. — Mr. Barnum, with the zeal he has ever manifested in 
providing for the public cheap and intellectual amusement, has now brought out, at Stoppani Hall, a work 
perhaps the most attractive of all his previous speculations, excepting only the Swedish Nightingale. This 
is a splendid and elaborate picture of the exterior and interior of the " World's Fair." together with a view 
of the royal ceremony which took place on the opening of the Exposition, on the 1st of May. This scene, 
and indeed all the interior, is gorgeous in the extreme ; and the lucid and correct explanations given by Mr. 
Hall, the delineator, add much to the general interest felt in a painting which, as a work of art, (apart from 
all other considerations) should be seen by all. 

(From the Ji'cm York Times, L)ec, 1851.) 
A moving picture of the Crystal Palace and the World's fair is now on view at Stoppani Hall, and com- 
prises both the exterior ant) interior of the wonderful building, with all its variety, and brilliant treasures of 
art and industry. It is followed by a birds eye view of London, and clones with the yacht America, at Lowes, 
'taking the shine" out of ■ them ere Britishers.' Mr. Hall, the lecturer, appears thoroughly conversant with the 
subject, and relates much amusing matter, to gild the pill of dry details as to size, structure, contents, fee. 
We were glad to see (even though it cost us the inconvenience of a hick seat,) that the house was crammed 
to overflowing, and rapturous in its applause. 

(From the Boston Times. Jan., 1852.) 
When first a great or astonishing fact is presented to our view, it creates only a vague indefinite idea of 
splendor and extent; we must become familiar with the whole, before we can allow our attention to centre 
on the one point, analyse its separate beauties — the great progressive Mirror of the World's Fair, now- 
exhibited at Amory Ball, admirably illustrates this well known axiom of criticism. When first we saw us 
mighty proportions unrolled — the great exterior of the Palace, and West End of London, the royal opening by 
the Queen and Court of Britain, — the am /.ins avenues, and miles of galleries, lill< d with all that men moat 
prize for beauty and utility — when these things passed before us first, we held our breath and cave the rein 
to fancy's wildest flights. But on a second, and a third visit, we recovered from the surprise which rendered 
US ii. capable of judgment ; and having now watched with earnest attention every part and object of the 
.Mammoth Mirror, we pronounce that our first impression of admiration has been deepened, and widened. 
The picture is not more be tutifui in its vast dimensions than it is accurate and humorous in detail ; and the 
lecture or delineation delivered by D. Eldon Hall far surpasses anything of the kind we have yet beard, in Id 
energetic portraiture and comprehension of " the great fact of the 19th century." 

(From the Boston Traveller, Jan., 1852.) 
There is perhaps no citizen of the United States who has contrived to get and keep his nan 
nently and perpetually before the public as P. T. Barnum. Bis hand is in every enterprise, and seemingly 
pxerts a magic influence, for it invariably secures success. Big or little, it is all one to him ; and having 
reilized an enormous sum from the must diminutive homtmeutua, Tom Thumb, he next turned his daring 
thoughts to the 'Great Exhibition of the Industry of all the Nuions in the World " Into a scheme tor ["•< 
curing an exact counterpart of this mighty edifice, and all that it contained, he entered with the ttoronfftaeM 
and energy which is the talisman of success in every undertaking. At his own co-i he dispatched Signoi de 
Camano, of Broadway, New York, and six other artists of celebrity, to London, to take the various drawings 
upon the spot, and certainly they have d me ample justice to the Exhibition. Not only h ive we a correct and 
wondrously beautiful representation of every part and object within and around the Crystal Palace, but the 
hilarity and good fellowship which presided over the great contest of rival industry, breathes In - 
the sixty thou and faces which are seen In the progressive mirror of ah the interminable avenues. The 
delineator possesses a remarkably clear and forcible enunciation, and the sketches with which I 
panies each successive scene are not less instructive than Misusing, la consequence of prior engn 
the Worlds Fair very soon will leave Amory Hall, and we therefore advise our f How citizens who hnve not 
seen it to lose no time. It is exhibited every afternoon and evening to crowded atd delighted -p ctitors. 



OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 

(From the Boston Bee, Jan.. K 

Since the Halcyon days of the Swedish Nightingale we can remember nothing approaching to the excite- 
ment created by the Crystal Palace and World's Fair, now exhibited each afternoon and evenir.- 
Hall. We went last night at the appointed time, or indeed a little too soon, and found the hall already filled 
to overflowing. Among the spectators we recognized many faces rarely seen at snch places of amusement: 
the heads of families, the most illus - . It seems as if the cosmopolitan 

character of the Greii Exhibition lent a portion of its influence to the gigantic Mirror which the enterprise 
of Mr. Barnuin presents to the American public, for ali ages, grades and classes of our citizens nightly and 
daily throng to see it. Mr. D. Edun Hall, the learned lecturer," has evidently bestowed much care and study 
upon the matter, and in his delineation of the various scenes, we have a comprehensive, accurate and amns- 
■ if all connected with the World's Fair, f laving viewed the whole exterior and interior of the 
Palace, the Royal opening, the foreign department, the American division, the whole Nave, the Transept, the 
Canadian department, and the British division with the A* 111, we are finally favored with a 

splendid marine view of the yacht America, running ahead of the Royal squadron of Great Bri: 
memorable race which occurred last summer at Cowes. in the I»le of Wight The applause, which had 
hitherto been warm and frequenr. now rose into such a hurricane of cheers as would have swamped any 
vessel less sea worthy than the matchless clipper: we saw Commodore Stevens upon the quarter deck, who 
appeared to take it very easv, and the good craft sailed orf w::h fl\in: colors to the tune of -Yankee 
Doodle." 

(The E . ISoC. says— ) 

As a painting, it is by far the largest and most faithful we have seen : and never did we visit a thing of 
the bind more worthy of unqualified admiration. The spectators were very numerous last night, now look- 
ing on in breathless wonder, and aeain. giving vent to their delight in deafening applause. 

We are first presented With a bird's-eye view of the West End of London, containing Buckingham Palace, 
Westminster Abbey, the new Houses of Parliamentand the Parks which surrounded the Crystal Palace. Neil 
we have a splendid perspective view of the noble structure, which, to oar thinking, was in itself the greatest 
wonder of the World's Fair. We are then introduced into the interior, and have the royal opening — a scene 
as gorgeous and astonishing as anything we have read in the Arabian Nights. We then ]>ass up and down 
each avenue, and view the contributions of the various States precisely as they appeared in the Palace. 
Mr. Hail, the learned and eloquent lecturer, accompanies each scene with a running fire of information and 
anecdote; and the brief delineation he delivers, ieaiis us t-> expect a rich feast in Lis •• History of the 
World's Fair," which will shortly issue from the press of Messrs. Redrield, of New York. We regret to say, 
the painting leaves Boston very soon. 

(From the Boston Transcript, Ja-nuar. 

Rcvolvisg Mirror of the Crystal Palace and World's Fair. — We need no longer trouble our- 
selves with asking questions of the happy fellows who visited London last year, and lieheld the Great Exhi- 
bition, and ali the glories thereof. Barn n in. whose enterprise seems In recognize no limit, despatched a corps 
of artists to London under the able direction of Signor Delamano. of New York, and the result proves what 
miracles may be accomplished by capital and genius when combined. We are charmed with the painting; it 
surpasses in interest, fidelity and beauty, all that our imagination pictured, and every scene presented, bears 
the stamp of truth forcibly Impressed on every part of it. One of Chickering's Pianos, under the brilliant 
touch of Frank Howard, •■ discourses most eloquent music." and furnishes the national air of each country, 
as the contributions from it are presented on the faithful canva«. 

The delineator possesses a clear, sonorous voice, and has evidently a thorough mastery of his theme. His 
elocution is forcible, and he aiiudes to the triumphs of the United Suites with graceful pride. 

In the Mirror we have the whole west end of London in a bird's eye peep — the vast and glittering exterior 
of the Crystal Palace — the Royal Opening by the Queen and Court of Britain— the whole interior, transept, 
nave, American, British and Canadian departments — the Agricultural Court and the yacht " Am- 
From the Boston Commonwealth, January. 1851) 

When the great showman of our hemisphere proposed to exhibit the Crystal Palace on canvas, the thing 
seemed like attempting to paint the milky way. or the aurora borealis. For one, we thought his undertaking 
must prove a failure artistically, if not pecuniarily. But an inspection of the panorama, now on exhibition at 
Amory Ha : l, from beginning to end, has convinced us that at least for those who never saw the original, he 
has succeeded in giving a very grand and impressive idea — fir in advance of common imaginations — of the 
vast extent and moral sublimity of the World's Exhibitor!. The panorama is richly worth seeing were it only - 
for the truly artistic opening and closing views — London and ■• America." 
(From the Boston Gazette. Jkmmmtf, .: 

We visited Amory Hall last night where the Crystal Palace and World's Fair is noweihibited every after- 
noon and evening, and found the attendance as full as usuai. that is to say. the hall was as full as it could 
hold, and numbers who came rather late were reluctantly refused admission. The spectators were all of them 
drawn from the most resectable classes of our citizens, and among them we recognised many who rarely 
attend our places of public amusement being occupied with graver and more momentous duties. The 
Crystal Palace, however, so admirably combines the dulee with the decorum, the instructive with the delight- 
fuC that to the gay and thoughtless it is but a briliant pigeant of vast extent and glowing beauty: while to 
the wise it becomes a moral lesson of the deepest and worthiest importance, pleasantly brought home to 
the imagination with all the charms of contour, color, and the harmonies of sound and proportion. Frank 
Howard accompanies each view with the national air of the country whose con tribu tons are there presented, 
and thrills the pulses of his auditory with every emotion from the lofty, self-devoted dignity of the Mar- 
seillaise, to the energetic and characteristic railroad tune of Yankee Doodle. Eldoo Hall, the lecturer, is a 
man of superior stamp, and the delineation with which he accompanies each successive scene is both val- 
uable and amazing. His manner when serious is very impressive, and his lighter anecdotes are related with 
a great de.il of quiet humor. No similar exhibition that we can remember has ever achieved a similar popula- 
rity. List night w.s its fifty-eighth appearance in Boston, and every entertainment has been crowded to 
overflowing. The charitable institutions have reason to regret the speedy departure of the Mirror, as through 
Mr. Hall's liberality they have reaped large and much needed accessions to their funds. 




m /A Ti RO U W 

AMERICAN MUSEUM, 

Cor Broadway and Ann-street, New- York, 

P. T. BARNUM, Proprietor and Manager JOHN GREENWOOD, Jr., Assistant Manager. 



MJJSEPM OPES PROM SEVEN O'CLOCK, 1. I., TO TL\ O'CLOCK, P. H. 

THE WORLD OF WONDERS! 

Tuts far-famed establishment is now the onlv complete and perfect phce of 

PAillLY B2TT3F.Tia.I2Tl£3XTT 

In the I'niled States embodying everything that can 

fHcnsc tfjc jFnncjj oc (Kvntifi? a Cultibatrti Caste, 

without offending the most delicate sense of morality or the nicest instinct of decorum. Independent of Uie 

CHOICE SCENIC EN T E R T A I N M i 

presented in the most elegant and modest manner 

EVERT AFT£R\OC\ AlfD EVENING, 

in the grand Saloon, popularly denominated, on account of it* sumptuous decorations, 

independent of the production here, by a Company of 

P E K R /, /; S 6 ABU.l T >', 
of everything of value in the whole range of the MORAL DRAMA— 
Domestic I. i It— Sketches— Te m perance 1*1 ays— Traced} - Coined j— Fa r cc— 
Panloniine— lixtrava^anza— Operetta— .11 u*ic—S in p; 113 — Da lit- in jj, Ac. 
and all primed down und chastened to suit the most fastidious en; 

vsns 'e&tlm m mmmmwi 

present :i million of fascinating novelties, gathered from all quarters of the world, without 
and form a collection 

I XKQ I L 1 LLED JX < 1 MER I ■ 

in every point of view, whether of novelty or interest. The CHINESE BEAl'1 I 

lone ; a Chinese Family of six persons, including two Cm 

'1'IOX : the facsimile of the Kor-i-hoob Diamond, placed by <i 

HAPPY FAMILY of eats, rats, dogs, owls, &%., all taught by natural in«tinrt m 

educated here, to live together in pence and barmi 

and interesting to contemplate, may be Been here at almost ail hours. 

Kjf°. If tern Don performances at 3 ; M the Evening, r.l 7 o'clock, 
performance, i!3 i nta ; Children under 10 years, 12} cent*. I'ar 









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